I've Started a Venture: AGI Villa, a Community-Driven Venture Studio

English translation of the Chinese original.

Hi everyone, I'm Su Peng.

Today, I am excited to share something that means a great deal to me:

I've started a venture.

This did not come from a sudden urge to do something new. It came from seeing so many people get stuck on the way to doing something they cared about.

Why We Started AGI Villa

Over the past few years, we have met many people who:

• Have an idea but cannot find the right people to build it with.
• Want to create something but do not know where to begin.
• Keep wavering between their day job and making something of their own.
• Finally build a product, only to find they do not know what comes next.

So Monica[2] and I[1] decided to start AGI Villa.

Not because we think we have all the answers, but because we want to try creating a place where it is easier to turn intentions into action.

Why Community-Driven?

We believe that a community is not just a promotional channel. It is a way of building things together.

Products at the application layer should be developed with users from day one. Spending six months building behind closed doors, only to have the first encounter with users undo your assumptions, makes little sense.

We want products to emerge through working with users:

• Listening to real needs
• Building a brand alongside the product
• Developing a community of your own

Communities create lasting connections. The people in a community can be an entrepreneur's strongest moat.

That is especially true in the AI era. Technology moves so quickly that you cannot be sure a technical advantage will remain defensible.

That is why we believe:

To nurture a community is to nurture a product.

We also believe that future organizations will take shape through communities, helping us rebuild a sense of connection to the people and life around us.

Why a Venture Studio?

In the traditional startup model, we see:

An entrepreneur comes up with an idea alone → builds a team alone → finds resources alone → carries all the uncertainty alone

What we want to do is:

Create opportunities together, rather than simply select entrepreneurs.

We hope to systematically identify real problems and opportunities, and build alongside entrepreneurs who share our outlook. We want to develop ideas together, experiment together, and move forward together. Starting a business should not be a solitary struggle.

Our Approach to Entrepreneurship

I have always believed in the power of openness and ecosystems. We want to build an open system and grow that ecosystem with our partners.

I do not believe there is only one way to start a business, or that everyone should fit into the same model.

More than competition, we care about:

Helping more people become capable entrepreneurs, and helping more worthwhile projects be seen, supported, and brought to life.

If you are a venture studio founder or lead a community, incubator, or accelerator, and this approach resonates with you, we would love to build an open ecosystem together.

Social Responsibility

I believe social responsibility belongs in the conversation from day one. Business and giving are compatible. That belief should be part of an organization's foundations.

We have therefore reached an intention to collaborate with Yihe (益盒). We plan to donate 1% of earnings or equity from AGI Villa and the projects it goes on to nurture to Yihe, supporting effective giving through their work.

How We Plan to Build AGI Villa

Nurturing Projects

We will start with workshops and hackathons: bringing people together and getting them making things. During these events, we will introduce promising ideas to help give that creative work direction.

We are also planning a 7–15 day co-living experiment, Co-living & Co-building:

• Bringing together people who want to make things
• Providing accommodation and three meals a day
• Keeping it simple, with enough support to focus on getting started

We plan to move between cities such as Shanghai → Hangzhou → Dali → Chiang Mai.

We welcome makers, venue providers, and other partners interested in shaping this project together.

Supporting Projects

• We are building a startup service package, from the basics—company registration in China and abroad, corporate structuring, and financial services—to growth and compliance support. We hope to offer these services through a SaaS model, supported by a carefully selected network of experts.
• We have also started an investor alliance that includes investment firms and accelerator partners. Promising projects will be connected directly with investors for funding opportunities and offered a fast track for accelerator selection. We are also preparing a small fund to invest in early projects at the idea stage.

Before I Close

I will build our ideas in public, helping information flow more freely rather than creating an advantage by keeping it scarce.

Before I started AGI Villa, someone more experienced told me: we can do many things, and we may well succeed at them. But imagine that ten years from now, everything you set out to do has worked. Is that actually the life you wanted to live? Everyone can make a beginning; few see it through to the end. I wanted to pass that thought on to you, too.

📮 Want to Get Involved with AGI Villa?

If you:

• ✅ Have an idea you want to bring to life
• ✅ Want to join a co-living experiment, workshop, or hackathon
• ✅ Want to contribute as a partner or resource provider

Add me on WeChat: subranium 👉 Please mention one of these in your request: co-building, entrepreneurship, or collaboration.

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• [1] Su Peng's personal introduction: https://agivilla.feishu.cn/wiki/ArG4wXniVi5A2lkAIf9coosLnKc?from=from_copylink
• [2] Monica's personal introduction: https://kww8aa1ink.feishu.cn/wiki/OKBNwgnl9iCssBkV03GcfIlwnTf?from=from_copylink

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The Chinese text was archived in full from the author's public mdnice copy, preserving the account, plans, and invitations as they stood when it was written. The original publication date has not been confirmed. The public copy's publication date reflects this archiving process, not when the article was written or first published. The archival changes were limited to heading levels, paragraph formatting, and image storage locations.