UPDATE: December 5, 2024
Originally published in Carroll Capital, the print publication of the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. .
Growing up in Hong Kong, Tim Liu '26 spent his primary school years in a local education system that emphasized memorization and high-stakes exams. When he later had the opportunity to attend an international school, Liu was exposed to a learning environment where, in addition to getting good grades, creativity and open-mindedness were also rewarded. "It was a radical shift in teaching philosophy," he says of the transition. "There was more emphasis on seeing things from different perspectives."
Tim Liu '26 and Dylan Kim, LSEHD '26, founders of MLV Ignite
When Liu arrived on the Heights, he became fast friends with Dylan Kim, LSEHD '26. The pair joined the Start@Shea Freshman Innovation Program, where they regularly attended workshops and information sessions hosted by th Edmund H. Shea Jr. Center for Entrepreneurship. Inspired, Liu knew he wanted to provide high school students with similar opportunities for holistic and hands-on education.
Together with Kim, Liu launched MLV (M岷 L谩 Vi峄噒鈥�which translates to "Vietnamese Leaf Sprouts") Ignite as a two-week program in Kim's home country of Vietnam that guides high schoolers through the steps of developing their own startups. Liu utilizies his finance and entrepreneurship concentrations to act as CFO, while Kim, a computer science and transformative educational studies student, serves as CEO. was piloted in Winter 2024 and more than 100 students applied for 10 open spots.
"The idea is not for these students to be experts in entrepreneurship," says Liu. To him, it's more about giving them the confidence and resources to explore their business interests more broadly. The first MLV Ignite summer programs took place in two Vietnamese cities, Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, and consisted of English-language lessons on topics like pitching, revenue generation, and goal-setting.
Following the success of their first summer programs, Liu and Kim are now introducing MLV Ideate, a one-week winter program in Hong Kong happening later this month. In partnership with Hong Kong International School (HKIS), Ideate distills the MLV learning experience into a single, action-packed week. The program will also allow the team to gauge student interest and engagement in a new location.
"Hong Kong is a more developed market where, if we're able to launch successfully, we can use that experience to expand鈥� into places like Korea, Singapore, and other up-and-coming markets in Southeast Asia, Liu explains, adding that it will also be meaningful to bring the program to his home city. Liu and Kim hope that Hong Kong will serve as a stepping stone as they continue to spread the mission of MLV.
"We're trying to give students the skills to stand out on their college applications, but also prepare them [for adulthood] through entrepreneurship," Liu says. "The most important thing is to find your passion. That's what we hope to do, give them that passion."
听
