Entrepreneurship in the Global Marketplace
About the event
On Tuesday, March 1, SPRIE and Alibaba.com hosted “Entrepreneurship in the Global Marketplace,” a seminar featuring noted venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and executives. The seminar was the first in a series being conducted at several California universities under the auspices of the Schwarzenegger Emerging Entrepreneur Initiative.
Famed venture capitalist Tim Draper kicked off the event, sharing his insight on trends and strategies relevant to global business. Multiple facets of China’s role in supporting and enabling entrepreneurial ventures were spotlighted, including the presentation of new research on the rise and global impact of Chinese e-commerce, a talk by an executive from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.com, and lessons from a diverse set of entrepreneurs whose businesses depend on international trade. Additional perspectives were shared by China- and U.S.-based VCs.
This event was one of many being held at Stanford University during Entrepreneurship Week 2011, including compelling lectures, workshops, mentoring sessions, a job fair, and more. See full details at the Stanford Entrepreneurship Week website.
About the hosts
The Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SPRIE) is dedicated to advancing the understanding and practice of innovation and entrepreneurship in leading high technology regions in the global economy. Through and international and interdisciplinary research, publications, executive education, and conferences, SPRIE impacts the arenas of academia, policy, and business.

The Schwarzenegger Emerging Entrepreneur Initiative is a program to spur entrepreneurship and stimulate job growth in California, created by Alibaba.com in partnership with former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Through a series of interactive events, the initiative aims to provide 3,000 California university students with guidance, skills and entrepreneurial know-how to start their own businesses and participate successfully in the knowledge-based networked economy.
Bechtel Conference Center
Duncan Clark
BDA China Ltd
#2908 North Tower, Kerry Centre
1 Guanghua Road
Beijing 100020, China
Duncan Clark is Chairman of BDA China, a consultancy he founded in Beijing in 1994 after four years as an investment banker with Morgan Stanley in London and Hong Kong. Over the past 19 years, Duncan has guided BDA to become the leading investment advisory firm in China specialized in China's technology, internet and e-commerce sectors.
An angel investor in mobile game app developer Happy Latte and digital content metrics company App Annie Duncan has also served on the Advisory Board of Chinese internet company Netease.com (Nasdaq: NTES) and serves on the Advisory Board of the Digital Communication Fund of Geneva-based bank Pictet & Cie.
A UK citizen, Duncan was raised in England, the United States and France. A graduate of the London School of Economics & Political Science, Duncan is a Senior Advisor to the ‘China 2.0' initiative at the Stanford Graduate School of Business’s Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, where he was invited as a Visiting Scholar in 2010 and 2011.
Duncan is partner in a Beijing-based film production company CIB Productions, and Executive Producer of two China-themed television documentaries including ‘My Beijing Birthday’.
Duncan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to British commercial interests in China.
U.S. - Japan Dialogue to Promote Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Job Creation
Using research from the SPRIE-Project on Japanese Entrepreneurship (SPRIE-STAJE), representatives from the U.S. and Japanese governments met initially in Tokyo on May 27, 2010 to consider ways to foster an environment to promote new businesses and job creation. On November 13, 2010, the White House and the Prime Minister's Office formally launched the U.S.-Japan Dialogue to Promote Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Job Creation, elevating it to a policy-level dialogue in cooperation with SPRIE-STAJE. This dialogue aims to build on the conversation among Stanford's academic experts, prominent business people, and government officials about how to foster innovation through entrepreneurship. A roundtable discussion features the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship with leading Stanford academic experts, government officials, and business leaders. This will be followed by a panel discussion by experts from the U.S. and Japan on collaborative opportunities in pioneering smart grids for energy production, transmission, and distribution.
Featured speakers include:
- John Roos, US Ambassador to Japan
- Robert Hormats, Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State
- William Miller, Co-Director, SPRIE, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford Univeristy
- Michael Armacost, Shorenstein Distinguished Fellow, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University and Former Ambassador to Japan
- Norihiko Ishiguro, Director General, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
- Larry W. Sonsini, Chairman, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
- Daniel I. Okimoto, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science & Director Emeritus, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University
- Kathleen Eisenhardt, Professor, School of Engineering, Stanford University
- Robert Eberhart, SPRIE Researcher, SPRIE, Shorenstsein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford Univeristy
- Nobuyori Kodaira, Senior Managing Director, Toyota Motor Corporation,
- Donald Wood, Managing Director, Draper Fisher Jurvetson
- Richard Dasher, Director, US-Asia Technology Management Center
Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center
Mackenzie Conference Room
3rd Floor