Corporate strategy has recently changed in many ways. From the increasing presence of sustainability in corporate conversations, the significance of data-driven approaches, and the increasing adoption of technology. We recently sat down with Anne Cheng, Supercharge Lab CEO, to gain more insight into the global trends from her own experience.
From a young age, Anne’s exposure to the business world began through her mother’s deep involvement in a multinational organization with diverse interests across various industries. This exposure piqued Anne’s intellectual curiosity from a young age. In the end, this fostered her drive to immerse herself in the corporate world of finance and soon after the startup world.
Ignited by a passion for startups and entrepreneurship, Anne founded Startup Nation in 2011, a global incubator and accelerator that played a significant role in fostering startups globally. Anne has marked her successful entrepreneurial journey by founding and subsequently exiting multiple businesses. She has pivoted back to the world of investments to further her knowledge in scaling larger businesses and consulting. This has all led to the establishment of Supercharge Lab in 2019, an advanced artificial intelligence company that analyzes human approaches to decision-making and applies it to practical functions like sales, marketing, and strategy. Anne’s career, impressive and plagued by many successes not only for her own companies and ventures but also in aiding corporates in revolutionizing their corporate strategy.
ScriptString X Supercharge Labs – Revolutionizing Corporate Strategy Together
Anne has always been driven in her work by one consistent mission, to push humanity forward. In today’s global climate, companies prioritize ESG compliance and ethical practices, elevating the importance of partnerships for good. When meeting with ScriptString for the first time Anne found alignment with her business vision and mission through ensuring compliance, due diligence, enabling ethical business practices, and efficient management of regulatory requirements. Our recent partnership shows this alignment to drive businesses forward ethically, a main objective at Supercharge Lab from the start.
Our partnership with Supercharge Lab has showcased Anne’s expertise in corporate strategy, technology, finance, and integrating sustainability values. The rest of our conversation aims to share Anne’s valuable insights and expertise with our network in today’s evolving business landscape.
Navigating Sustainability Compliance and Ethical Decision-Making in Business
The business world has experienced change, as Anne noted, “I think what has happened is as generations progressed, more thought has been put into why you are not being reasonable with the way you do business?” Consumers today expect businesses to be responsible and ethical in their operations, driven by concerns of environmental degradation and societal inequalities.
When asked about navigating compliance, Anne highlighted the necessary impact of regulations on businesses designed to protect the environment and society. Through her work with small and medium-sized enterprises, she acknowledges the challenges for them when it comes to these types of regulations. We need tailored approaches to aid these businesses to continue to grow sustainably and not be ended by compliance challenges.
Today, businesses need to operate with strong moral compasses, this is an increasingly critical aspect for startups to consider in their growth plans. There needs to be a paradigm shift as to how businesses approach sustainability, moving beyond mere marketing strategies to genuine commitment and action. More investors today are requiring startups to be ethical to obtain funding, for the most part, “venture capital has changed” in that way. Being more sustainable is not about a superficial image but revolutionizing corporate strategy to incorporate sustainability.
With the above considered, due to the global nature of Anne’s work, she touched on differences in around parts of the world. The idea of being sustainable in business is defined differently everywhere with alternative areas of focus or levels of integration depending on the development in that part of the world. There still needs to be clearer definitions and frameworks to guide efforts and Anne suggests that legislation and public-private partnerships play crucial roles in addressing these challenges and differences.
Harnessing Data for Sustainable Business Strategies
Anne understands the power of revolutionizing your corporate strategy with sustainability and data – “data and sustainability can be your competitive advantage.” Sustainability can both inform and be driven by data strategies. By gathering the right data and measuring the right metrics, businesses can gain insights into their environmental and social impact, as well as their financial performance. It is all about looking at things holistically, data enables businesses to integrate sustainability into every aspect of their operations, from financial metrics to environmental and social impacts. Sustainability itself can also serve as the glue that binds various aspects of a business together.
Even with the benefits of data-driven strategies, there are still challenges. Anne emphasizes the importance of defining a clear data strategy, including what data to collect, why it’s being collected, and how it will be utilized. Many companies she has worked with do not have a clear data strategy leading to the inability to use their data to their advantage. Additionally, Anne warns against collecting excessive data without a clear purpose, as it can become overwhelming and impractical. This rings particularly true when it comes to sustainability/ESG practices; it’s easy to get lost in excess data.
Impact Investing and Industry Challenges
Anne recently launched the Goodside Fund and actively participates in several impact and climate tech funds globally. In her opinion, “the growth of impact investing in recent years is very indicative of the world waking up to the fact that sustainability is no longer nice to have, but a need to have.” Still, we have a way to go, with a “need to remove 52 billion tons of carbon from our environment annually to move the needle on reversing climate change.” That is a massive amount more than even the halt of COVID provided.
“The reality is that we can invest a lot of money into reversing climate change, to removing carbon from the atmosphere, but at the end of the day the people who are in the position to move the needle are big corporates.”
There needs to be a concerted effort globally to define the goals and define the methods by which we measure success. “Compliance is one thing, but really, there needs to be a massive shift in perceptions that it is not somebody else’s problem. It is all our collective problems right here, right now. Until business changes, the perceptions that I just need to survive, I think there’s still going to face an uphill battle.” While funds contribute to climate solutions through startups, Anne sees they also need to align on how they measure success in impact-related strategies. There is already a greater demand for transparency and sustainable practices in corporate strategy, signaling a growing shift in priorities within the investment space.
On the industry side, there are many challenges depending on industries. For example, our chat focused on the built environment where Anne has spent time as a consultant within the construction industry. Anne highlights the industry’s historical resistance to change, citing factors such as entrenched practices, regulatory barriers, and thin profit margins. These factors hinder innovation and impede the widespread adoption of sustainable building materials, like green cement. Despite the emergence of startups offering innovative solutions, many struggle to penetrate the market due to regulatory complexities and resistance from established players.
Exploring AI Adoption and Ethical Considerations
Our conversation ended with the topic of AI, an increasingly prevalent topic here in developed countries. Anne provided insights into the challenges of AI adoption in developing nations, where labor costs are low and most of the population lives below the poverty line. There is a prevalent mindset of favoring manual labor over technology due to economic constraints. There are difficulties in implementing technology-driven solutions in societies where fundamental upskilling, education, and infrastructure barriers persist, perpetuating a cycle of poverty. She illustrated this with an example of a large real estate company that failed to recognize the value of data collection, hindering its ability to leverage AI technologies effectively.
“Few build technology for bad purposes… but of course, as with all technology, it can be a tool or it can be a weapon, right?”
Even as technology adoption expands, corporate strategy must proactively address potential misuse of AI technologies, highlighting the need for safeguards and responsible practices. Anne emphasizes the necessity of preventing AI exploitation for malicious purposes, stressing proactive measures and ethical guidelines.
Forward Momentum: Harmonizing Corporate Strategy, Sustainability, and Innovation
As we wrap up our discussion with Anne Cheng, the visionary CEO behind Supercharge Lab, it’s clear that the fusion of corporate strategy, sustainability, and innovation isn’t just a trend—it’s a roadmap for lasting change.
Anne’s insights illuminate the path ahead, emphasizing the importance of purpose-driven collaboration and data-driven decision-making. By embedding sustainability at the heart of corporate strategy, organizations can navigate regulatory landscapes, drive meaningful societal impact, and pave the way for transformative growth.
Let’s maintain our momentum, aid in global progress toward the goals, leverage the power of data, and carve out a sustainable future for generations to come. As we continue our partnership with Supercharge Lab, we know this is our goal.
