Shenzhen’s speed is energy, opportunity, and the city’s charm.

When a city constantly pushes us forward, how does a woman decide what is truly worth investing her time, body, trust, and life force in?

We’ve found that women today are not lacking in effort. They work efficiently, learn quickly, connect resources, drive projects, and juggle roles between family, workplace, entrepreneurship, and personal growth.

But often, the real difficulty is not “try a little harder”—it’s judging: Am I growing or burning out? Am I building career compounding or just being busy? Is this truly my opportunity or a fake one dressed up by the zeitgeist? Is this partner, client, or collaborator amplifying me or draining me?

This time, we don’t want to simplify women’s leadership into “stronger, more confident, more resilient.”

On May 30th, Startup Grind Shenzhen’s “Women in Leadership Month” event wants to build a more authentic handbook together with a group of women who work, start businesses, build, and live in Shenzhen:

How to stay clear-minded amid Shenzhen’s speed, identify long-term value, protect your body and boundaries, and hear your inner direction in a city that never stops moving.

In this dialogue, we move from “effort” to “judgment” and break down the five most important decision-making modules for women working, starting up, and living in Shenzhen:

• Body Intelligence – Growth should not come at the cost of burnout. Learn to read the subtle signals of your body, understand the relationship between stress, energy, and health, and make your body part of your decision-making system—not an endlessly tapped resource.

• Career Compounding – Busy does not equal growth. Judge whether a job is building transferable skills and career compounding, or simply consuming you efficiently. Build real long-term value in a changing environment.

• Opportunity Recognition – Amid the waves of AI, going global, hard tech, and new consumption, not every opportunity is worth chasing. Identify which are long-term windows and which are fake opportunities amplified by the mood of the era.

• Partnership Signals – A partner, client, or collaborator can amplify you or drain you. Set boundaries. Recognize relationships worthy of long-term trust and mutual growth.

• Life Design – The truly important question is not “What can I win?” but “What kind of life do I want to live?” Redefine success and build a life system where career, health, family, and inner order support each other.

Speakers

Echo Gao

Founder of Vlight AI (Hong Kong Future Creative Technology Co., Ltd.), serial entrepreneur, Master of Multimedia Technology at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Previously worked for international English media in Hong Kong such as Reuters and Channel NewsAsia (Singapore).

In 2023, she founded Vlight AI – the world’s first AI agent for smart hardware from idea to design implementation. Won first place in the GBA Entrepreneurship Competition hosted by York University (Canada) in 2025, representing Hong Kong’s innovation and technology for exchange in Toronto. Her product was named one of the Top 40 most popular products at Elevate Festival, Toronto’s largest tech festival. In 2025, she was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing for international exchange on innovation and technology.

Product brief:

A one-stop product design AI agent for rapid market validation of potential hit products, automating the entire process from product idea to market-validated physical product.

The platform helps early-stage hardware startup teams accelerate prototype implementation, validate market fit before production based on real supply chain capabilities, and reduce product launch costs and risks. By revolutionizing the traditional “concept to output” model, Vlight AI allows innovators to validate their product before manufacturing, saving time, capital, and manpower.

Mission: Lower the barrier to product design, enabling anyone—without a professional background—to quickly turn ideas into hit products.

Becca Liu

Founder & CEO of HappyPower

Serial social innovator and entrepreneur, international participatory artist. Started a business in high school; at 19, her blockchain project received ¥500,000 seed funding. UN YouthLead annual leader, IUCN ChangeMaker, Arrow ChangeMaker. Supported by the Asia-Pacific Sustainable Youth Forum, she founded the China Sustainable Development Youth Alliance. In 2026, she will represent youth from 38 Asia-Pacific countries at the Asia-Pacific Sustainable Forum to advocate for sustainable youth innovation. In 2026, she was selected as one of the top 11 finalists in the Yabuli Entrepreneurs Summit Youth Innovation Competition.

Kristine

Vice President, a leading embodied intelligence company

Bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley, MBA from The University of Hong Kong. Previously responsible for strategy and operations at the Future Science Prize Foundation, where she led the formation of the Future Forum Young Scientists Innovation Alliance, connecting over 120 top Chinese young scientists from home and abroad to promote industry-academia-research collaboration and resource sharing. In 2021, she initiated and organized 20+ professors and AI experts to co-author “Artificial Intelligence Ethics and Governance – A Future Perspective.” In 2023, she launched the Asian Young Scientist Fellowship program, supporting young scientists from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, and others to conduct cutting-edge research in life sciences, physical sciences, and computer science, fostering Asian research innovation and international academic exchange. In 2025, she joined the China Youth Association of Science and Technology.

Currently dedicated to connecting China’s cutting-edge general-purpose intelligent robotics capabilities with global industrial systems and productivity needs, driving industrial ecosystem development, innovation, and international cooperation.

Yunxi Chen

Former journalist at a leading tech media outlet and content director at a major internet company. Now a brand aesthetics consultant, brand content consultant, and curator of “OldFuture,” a top lifestyle and aesthetics account on Xiaohongshu. She explores and presents the diversity of beauty from history and the broader arts, bringing beauty from museums and ancient texts into everyday life.

Event Info:

📅 Date & Time

Saturday, May 30, 2026 | 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM

📡 Format

Offline Event

📍 Venue

BEEPLUS, Floor 2, Tower 2, Financial Base, No. 8 Kefa Road, Nanshan High-Tech Park, Shenzhen

👥 Language

Mandarin Chinese

🏷 Tickets

Early Bird ¥59.9 Late Bird ¥79.9 (Fee includes refreshments and drinks)

Agenda

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Check-in & Welcome

2:30 PM - 2:50 PM

Opening by the Host

2:50 PM - 3:50 PM

Panel Discussion

3:50 PM - 4:00 PM

Q & A

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Group Photo, Networking & Refreshments

Photo Notice

There will be photographers at the event! Your photos might be used in the organizer’s future promotions, social media, or branding activities. By joining, you agree to the use of your photos for these purposes.

Refund Policy

Thank you for your interest and support. As a community-driven event organized by volunteers, all proceeds will be used to cover basic operational costs such as venue rental and refreshments. To ensure smooth event planning, we are unable to offer refunds. We appreciate your understanding.