Peer Learning in Playing: 2023 Spring Supersonic Plan Module 1 Recap
The Supersonic Program is accepting applications on a rolling basis.
On March 18–19, the first module of the Spring 2023 Supersonic Plan — "Icebreakers, Strategy, and Outing" — kicked off as scheduled. The latest cohort of Supersonic founders reunited in Beijing for their first in-person gathering in a long while, exchanging ideas in a relaxed atmosphere through a variety of formats.
As technology continues to innovate and evolve at breakneck speed, real-time interaction is becoming as ubiquitous as air and water — helping traditional ways of living, working, and playing break free from the constraints of time and space, and enabling richer, multi-layered experiences. Yet offline remains an inseparable and vital part of people's lives. When we return to physical spaces, how can real-time interaction play its part? How can products and services deliver new value to users?
The Supersonic Plan's opening module was designed to help founders find their own answers to these questions, even as they got to know one another.
Thinking with Your Hands, Making Problems Three-Dimensional
LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® is a staple of the Supersonic Plan. Led by the team of Wang Ligeng — China's first certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator — founders used their hands to "think." Topics like "How to pitch your product to investors," "The most fulfilling moment since you started your company," and "What's been keeping you up at night lately" — all deeply relevant to the entrepreneurial journey and typically conveyed through words or flat PowerPoint slides — were given tangible form through LEGO bricks. The medium transformed two-dimensional reflection into three-dimensional construction. Step by step, the founders were guided into a process of concrete thinking, reflection, and awareness.
"Recognizing a problem is the first step to solving it. Knowing where a problem sits within a larger framework helps you prioritize and reduces anxiety." Dr. Yang Hui, head of Agora's ecosystem operations center, joined the founders in building with LEGO, listening to their pain points, and helping them review the challenges they'd encountered on their startup journeys — and the possible directions for resolving them.
Branding Is a Collective Behavior
March 19 was a packed day. The first stop was at GeekPark, an ecosystem partner of the Supersonic Plan. In the early stages of a startup, it's easy to become single-mindedly focused on refining technology and product while neglecting the importance of external brand communication. Ashley, GM of GeekPark, shared observations from the Founder Park community about common branding communication pain points in early-stage companies. "Branding is a collective behavior — from management to employees, from customers to the broader ecosystem," Ashley explained.
So This Is What Real-Time Interaction Can Be
On the afternoon of March 19, two Supersonic startups brought interactive experiences in innovative formats. Through hands-on participation, the founders experienced seamless real-time interaction bridging the physical and digital worlds.
"A future intelligent life-form — the Supersonic Little Note — is trapped somewhere in the 798 Art Zone. Go rescue it and send it back to the future!" This was the premise of "The Secret Power of the Note," a mixed-reality game blending online and offline elements, created by My Earth, a startup from the inaugural Supersonic cohort. Participants solved puzzles online and explored the 798 Art Zone in person, searching for clues, interacting with online NPCs, and completing missions — connecting each participant with real-world scenes around them.
The endpoint of the game — and the final stop of the two-day program — was EmergeLab, a permanent entrepreneurial partner of the Fall 2022 Supersonic cohort.
Emerge merges physical media with digital technology to deliver diverse real-time interactive experiences for online and offline scenes and spaces. Receipt printers, vintage floppy drives, arcade joysticks — seemingly unrelated objects, through careful design and development, become innovative interactive media that shine when combined with online virtual environments in various hybrid experiences. The founders used Emerge's tools to print their own one-of-a-kind tote bags, "designing" with their hands to close out the first module of this cohort's program.
The vibrant first module came to a close. A minor hiccup along the way was met with understanding and good humor from the founders, turning it into a happy note in the experience. We hope the diverse formats of the program deepened mutual understanding among the Supersonic founders and sparked new thinking about use cases. Surrounded by interesting people, the entrepreneurial journey is never lonely.
In April, the Supersonic Plan will continue on to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and other cities. The program will keep refining the experience, creating an even more relaxed and immersive atmosphere for exchange and learning, empowering every step of founders' growth.
The Supersonic Plan accepts applications on a rolling basis. Even outside formal recruitment periods, you're welcome to reach out and be considered for future cohorts!
5Y Capital seeks out, supports, and inspires lonely entrepreneurs, providing support that ranges from the spiritual to the operational. We believe that if the world begins to believe in the "crazy" you that others see, the world will become a different place.
BEIJING · SHANGHAI · SHENZHEN · HONG KONG
