<p><strong>Nancy Wang</strong>, General Manager, Amazon Web Services (AWS), sees effective Intellectual Property (IP) strategies as imperative for women-led startups as they tackle new and unique challenges, many of them posed by the digitisation of businesses. The Director of Product and Engineering at AWS also highlights the rise of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies that have necessitated moats around businesses, to protect innovation. Wang who is “fascinated” by the growth and energy of Bengaluru’s technology ecosystem was in the city as part of the United States Speaker Programme, run by the US Department of State, which connects foreign professionals with experts from the US. India is the “second most populous learner base”, after the US, for Advancing Women In Tech (AWIT), the international non-profit she founded in 2017. Wang spoke with <strong>R Krishnakumar</strong> after meeting women entrepreneurs in the city and sharing with them insights on building sustainable businesses.</p>.<p><strong>What do you see as the key challenge for startups in IP protection?</strong></p>.<p>The awareness of how IP works and how IP can benefit a startup business is crucial, more so for a CEO or a founder who is doing multiple things simultaneously – recruiting, selling, pitching, and sometimes, even building the product. So, how do you choose to spend your time? Would IP be one of your top priorities? You have to be intentional with how you choose to protect your innovations, especially as most startups operate in markets that already have other players.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/aws-to-invest-rs-105-lakh-crore-in-cloud-services-in-india-by-2030-1219714.html">AWS to invest Rs 1.05 lakh crore in cloud services in India by 2030</a></strong></p>.<p><strong>The rise of generative AI technologies has set off new questions around IP rights.</strong></p>.<p>This is where building moats has become critical. It is about ensuring that your business is defensible. Let’s take a market segment like transportation tech. How do players who operate in the same segment use IP, through patents, trademarks, and copyrights to protect their ideas? With the new wave of generative AI and with people who have access to open-source models, how do you see IP and moats around your business? This is important as the focus of IP has shifted from the foundational models to the business problems you solve with those models. This has been the train of thought, and theme, of the workshops that I have had.</p>.<p><strong>How has your India visit aligned with the theme of IP strategies for women as entrepreneurs?</strong></p>.<p>As part of the US Speaker programme, I’m engaging with audiences on topics that I’m passionate about and I’ve worked on, that includes building businesses, working with entrepreneurs, and fostering start-up activity. Some of the significant interactions are about IP and why it is important to entrepreneurs of all types, especially women entrepreneurs, as they are looking to build sustainable, successful businesses in India.</p>.<p><strong>You met a group of women entrepreneurs here. How did that work as an exchange of ideas?</strong></p>.<p>I would liken it more to a masterclass setup where we had about 15 women entrepreneurs who work in various fields, ranging from biomedical sciences and building probiotics to platforms in ed tech, media and entertainment tech. The idea was to invite them as part of the CWE (Catalyst for Women Entrepreneurship, a Bengaluru-based non-profit) community and set up a platform for exchanging ideas on topics that include the governments' role in supporting women entrepreneurs, as they seek IP protection for their businesses and innovation ideas.</p>.<p><strong>Do you see a uniquely Indian context to the low representation of women in business leadership?</strong></p>.<p>AWIT was founded to place more women in and accelerate more women into these leadership roles. The lack of women’s representation in key leadership roles is an issue not unique to India. I think in countries like India where, traditionally, education and access to professional opportunities have not been similar for men and women, it creates what we know as the pipeline problem. Consider a base of 100 people, from where some make it to mid-level management and then, to senior management and executive level. The funnel gets thinner and thinner; when you don’t have sufficient numbers at the start of the funnel, you may not end up with many candidates for leadership roles.</p>.<p><strong>Has India responded well to AWIT’s mentoring/training programmes?</strong></p>.<p>India has been our second most populous base of learners. AWIT is reaching out to the global audience through online content. Over the last three years, it has published three specialisations through Coursera – real-world product management, real-world cloud product management, and real-world engineering management. The response from India reflects a drive and desire to learn about the newest techniques in product management.</p>
<p><strong>Nancy Wang</strong>, General Manager, Amazon Web Services (AWS), sees effective Intellectual Property (IP) strategies as imperative for women-led startups as they tackle new and unique challenges, many of them posed by the digitisation of businesses. The Director of Product and Engineering at AWS also highlights the rise of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies that have necessitated moats around businesses, to protect innovation. Wang who is “fascinated” by the growth and energy of Bengaluru’s technology ecosystem was in the city as part of the United States Speaker Programme, run by the US Department of State, which connects foreign professionals with experts from the US. India is the “second most populous learner base”, after the US, for Advancing Women In Tech (AWIT), the international non-profit she founded in 2017. Wang spoke with <strong>R Krishnakumar</strong> after meeting women entrepreneurs in the city and sharing with them insights on building sustainable businesses.</p>.<p><strong>What do you see as the key challenge for startups in IP protection?</strong></p>.<p>The awareness of how IP works and how IP can benefit a startup business is crucial, more so for a CEO or a founder who is doing multiple things simultaneously – recruiting, selling, pitching, and sometimes, even building the product. So, how do you choose to spend your time? Would IP be one of your top priorities? You have to be intentional with how you choose to protect your innovations, especially as most startups operate in markets that already have other players.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/aws-to-invest-rs-105-lakh-crore-in-cloud-services-in-india-by-2030-1219714.html">AWS to invest Rs 1.05 lakh crore in cloud services in India by 2030</a></strong></p>.<p><strong>The rise of generative AI technologies has set off new questions around IP rights.</strong></p>.<p>This is where building moats has become critical. It is about ensuring that your business is defensible. Let’s take a market segment like transportation tech. How do players who operate in the same segment use IP, through patents, trademarks, and copyrights to protect their ideas? With the new wave of generative AI and with people who have access to open-source models, how do you see IP and moats around your business? This is important as the focus of IP has shifted from the foundational models to the business problems you solve with those models. This has been the train of thought, and theme, of the workshops that I have had.</p>.<p><strong>How has your India visit aligned with the theme of IP strategies for women as entrepreneurs?</strong></p>.<p>As part of the US Speaker programme, I’m engaging with audiences on topics that I’m passionate about and I’ve worked on, that includes building businesses, working with entrepreneurs, and fostering start-up activity. Some of the significant interactions are about IP and why it is important to entrepreneurs of all types, especially women entrepreneurs, as they are looking to build sustainable, successful businesses in India.</p>.<p><strong>You met a group of women entrepreneurs here. How did that work as an exchange of ideas?</strong></p>.<p>I would liken it more to a masterclass setup where we had about 15 women entrepreneurs who work in various fields, ranging from biomedical sciences and building probiotics to platforms in ed tech, media and entertainment tech. The idea was to invite them as part of the CWE (Catalyst for Women Entrepreneurship, a Bengaluru-based non-profit) community and set up a platform for exchanging ideas on topics that include the governments' role in supporting women entrepreneurs, as they seek IP protection for their businesses and innovation ideas.</p>.<p><strong>Do you see a uniquely Indian context to the low representation of women in business leadership?</strong></p>.<p>AWIT was founded to place more women in and accelerate more women into these leadership roles. The lack of women’s representation in key leadership roles is an issue not unique to India. I think in countries like India where, traditionally, education and access to professional opportunities have not been similar for men and women, it creates what we know as the pipeline problem. Consider a base of 100 people, from where some make it to mid-level management and then, to senior management and executive level. The funnel gets thinner and thinner; when you don’t have sufficient numbers at the start of the funnel, you may not end up with many candidates for leadership roles.</p>.<p><strong>Has India responded well to AWIT’s mentoring/training programmes?</strong></p>.<p>India has been our second most populous base of learners. AWIT is reaching out to the global audience through online content. Over the last three years, it has published three specialisations through Coursera – real-world product management, real-world cloud product management, and real-world engineering management. The response from India reflects a drive and desire to learn about the newest techniques in product management.</p>