By Daniel
During my gap year, I spent a month in Suzhou, China, interning as an assistant at a technology startup. Raised by two engineers, I grew up without much exposure to business or entrepreneurship. However, this immersive experience completely shifted my perspective—not just on building a company, but also on my own vision for the future.
Stepping into the facility, I was immediately struck by the space’s aesthetic. Despite being a research-heavy startup focused on building electron microscopes with atomic-level sensitivity, the environment felt welcoming and social, even to those unfamiliar with the subject. The halls were lined with “artwork” showcasing images taken by the company’s newest prototype, revealing material surfaces atom by atom.
This people-centred design was woven into the day-to-day operations. The company comprised only a handful of research groups, engineers, and administrators. It ran by what was called “nuclear management”—a fluid, non-hierarchical structure where teams assembled naturally, and leadership flowed to whoever held the most relevant expertise and was willing to take responsibility. This fluidity extended beyond the organizational structure. The company had a space for employees to relax and socialize, and a kitchen perpetually stocked with cookware, snacks, and a fresh supply of eggs. Between these meals and the three parrots employees played with, the space felt like a vibrant, purposeful community.
While my day-to-day responsibilities involved the administrative legwork that kept the office running, this unique vantage point showed me how a business actually breathes by sitting in meetings with different parts of the company: technical researchers, finance administrators, and potential investors. Sitting in those meetings, the illusion of corporate predictability vanished. I realized that a startup operates in a perpetual state of ambiguity, constantly fighting for survival based on incomplete information. In an environment where explicit rules are scarce and so much is left unsaid, shared values become the glue holding everything together. Partners are found not from their resumes but through their personalities, their track record, and a deep alignment of vision. Beyond so-called management techniques, I learned that leadership means uniting people for a vision larger than any individual can possibly achieve, and then realizing it.
