By Steve Wang, TrustXP CEO – Reflections on my U.S. trip and what it means for our mission ahead.
When I touched down in Boston earlier this year, I felt the crisp winter air and an electric sense of possibility. I had come on a mission: to learn from some of America’s best and brightest and to bring those lessons back to TrustXP. Over 18 days, I traveled from the storied halls of MIT to bustling clinics in East Africa, and the journey opened my eyes in ways I never expected.
Lessons in American Innovation: My first stop was Cambridge, Massachusetts. Walking through MIT’s campus and later Harvard Yard, I was struck by the openness of innovation in the U.S. – the free flow of ideas in labs and coffee shops, and the boldness to chase big, crazy concepts. At an MIT robotics lab, I saw engineers trialing a prototype surgical robot; it reminded me of our own work in precision medical devices, but with a twist of that trademark MIT audacity. I realized that while TrustXP’s roots are in a culture of precision and manufacturing excellence, we can gain so much by embracing the American spirit of experimentation. The conversation at Harvard’s innovation center was equally enlightening – discussing global health technology with researchers there helped me see how academia and industry can collaborate to drive impact. As a result, I’m more committed than ever to fostering that cross-pollination of ideas in our team. We’ll be instituting more open brainstorming sessions (inspired by those MIT roundtables) and encouraging our engineers to take moonshot thinking even as we maintain our rigorous approach.
Integrating Insights into Our Product Roadmap: One highlight of the trip was visiting a longtime TrustXP client – a medical device startup in Boston. Over the past two years we’ve helped them source components and refine prototypes for a next-gen surgical tool. Sitting down face-to-face with their R&D team (after so many Zoom calls) was invaluable. We traded ideas on materials and even brainstormed a new feature on the spot. I left that meeting with a notebook full of ideas to integrate into our own product roadmap. For example, we decided to adopt a more user-centric design approach for our upcoming devices, inspired by the feedback loops I observed in Boston. I also visited Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), where I explored a collaboration on robotics in rehab technology – an area that aligns with our precision engineering strengths. Each encounter in the U.S. had a direct influence on our plans: our Zapp Supercharger will get a software interface revamp influenced by the latest UI trends I saw in a New York tech demo, and our medical device prototypes now incorporate some novel materials first developed in Boston labs. It’s amazing to see how a global perspective can fine-tune even the smallest details of engineering.
American Innovation vs. TrustXP’s Roots: Experiencing the fast-paced innovation culture in America also made me reflect on TrustXP’s own DNA. In Shenzhen and Shanghai (where many of our team members honed their skills), the focus has always been on precision, efficiency, and getting things reliably to market. That’s a strength we are proud of – it’s in our name, TrustXP, where “XP” evokes eXpertise and Precision. In contrast, the American approach celebrates experimentation and bold risk-taking. Neither is better or worse; in fact, I believe the magic happens when you combine them. One evening in New York City, after a long day of testing EV chargers with our partner, I wrote in my journal: “Embrace Western creativity with Eastern efficiency.” Going forward, I want our team to feel safe to fail and try new ideas (something American startups do so well) while never losing the discipline and diligence that ensure our solutions truly work. It’s about balance – or as one might say, bridging the best of both worlds.
From MIT to Africa – Engineering with Purpose: Perhaps the most profound part of my journey was what came after the U.S. trip – a segue into a humanitarian mission in East Africa. Fresh off the plane from New York, I carried with me all those new ideas and a reaffirmed sense of purpose. Our East Africa Medical Mission is now underway, aiming to bring life-saving equipment to clinics lacking resources. Stepping into a rural Kenyan clinic for the first time, I was greeted by the smiles of doctors who had been working with ultrasound images printed on paper. We opened up a case containing a portable ultrasound device (the kind of tech born from the very blend of innovation and precision I’ve been talking about) and within minutes, local nurses were scanning an expectant mother, seeing a clear real-time image of her baby. The look of relief and hope on their faces is something I will never forget. In that moment, the high-tech brainstorming at MIT and the long nights of engineering in our Shenzhen workshop all converged into a single purpose: impact. It struck me that innovation means little if it doesn’t touch lives. This project in Africa is a chance for TrustXP to ensure our innovations are grounded in real-world needs.
A New Chapter of Collaboration and Impact: Coming home, I am humbled and energized. I learned that sometimes the most advanced engineering insight can arise from a simple conversation halfway across the world. I learned that trust and friendship are as important as contracts – be it sharing a meal of Boston clam chowder or Ugali in a Kenyan village, those human connections fuel our drive. And I learned that our mission at TrustXP must always pair precision with purpose. We’re already implementing changes: our design teams have added weekly “what problem are we solving?” reflections to keep us impact-focused, and we’re planning exchanges where our engineers visit global partner sites annually.
This journey from Boston to Africa reinforced why I started TrustXP in the first place. Innovation has no borders, and when we get it right, our work in engineering transcends the lab and makes life better for people we might never meet. As I reflect on the past few weeks, one quote stays with me: “We learned a lot in face-to-face meetings and daily collaboration… this was one of the most important trips of my life.”file-glvutut1pf24f1jdukrz43
I’m grateful for the experiences and friendships forged. Now it’s time to channel that knowledge into action. The road ahead for TrustXP is clearer than ever: we will fail fast, learn fasterfile-pwl2faq37hjvmhv95uexkf, innovate across continents, and always remember who we’re innovating for. From the labs of Boston to the clinics of East Africa, let’s keep engineering a brighter future, together.
P.S. – Don’t miss the photo collage below, capturing moments from my visits at MIT and Harvard, hands-on testing in New York, and heartwarming scenes from our East Africa initiative. A picture is worth a thousand words, and these images celebrate the global friendships and impact we’re building, one project at a time.
– Steve
