01 / Leadership
LCP Certified
Qualified to administer the Leadership Circle Profile and Manager Edition
AI-Native Organization / Founder Coaching / China–Japan
AI-Native Leadership & Organization Coach.
Shen Laoban Sean | I help founders and leadership teams make AI useful in the way their companies actually operate.
The work goes beyond tools: clearer decisions, roles, working habits, and the conversations a team needs to have.
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AI Shen Laoban
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Start with a real question for AI Shen Laoban
2023 / Now
Credentials / Coaching Practice
Professional credentials & coaching practice
100+AI-native
startups supported
1M+Chinese characters
written
2,000+hours of executive
coaching practice
02 / Coaching
ICF Member · Level 1
Completed 77 hours of ICF-accredited coach training
03 / Community
Cornell · AoU
20-hour community engagement course · Academician
Works / Proof
Works and public proof
Community building, school operations, coaching, and writing may look like different fields. For me, they have always come back to one question: how do people come together and do meaningful work?
2014 / 2016 / 2022
Books and academic research
Sean published Into Dream Town in 2016 and Cultural Field: From Vanke to Alibaba in 2022, documenting community practice and exploring the relationships between organizational culture, space, and people. Into Dream Town has sold more than 15,000 copies and has a Douban rating of 7.8.
In 2014, he co-authored an Architectural Journal paper on mixed-use functions in large suburban residential communities, using Vanke Liangzhu Cultural Village as a case study.
2015
Asian Rowing Federation (ARF)
As assistant to the president of the Asian Rowing Federation and a member of its promotion committee, Sean supported the growth of grassroots rowing clubs in China. He proposed the “500 clubs in 3 years” initiative and launched the “Asian University Rowing Tour,” supporting amateur rowing clubs at universities and secondary schools, including Zhejiang University, Xi’an Jiaotong University, and China Europe International Business School (CEIBS).
Competed in more than 50 rowing races worldwide and led the planning of 5 international rowing events.
2017
Hupan University team
As employee No. 32 at Hupan University (later renamed 湖畔创业研学中心), an industry interviewer, and director of campus development, I worked on admissions interviews, donations to the school, and construction of the new campus. Working with the team of renowned Taiwanese architect Yao Ren-hsi, I helped bring the new Hupan campus through construction to handover.
At the center of the photo is Hupan University founder Jack Ma, then executive chairman of Alibaba Group.
2018
Liangzhu Culture Village Community Foundation
Founder and second-term board chair, moving from a management role at a property developer to participating in and caring for the community. Starting with real local issues of sustainable development, I supported public participation, trust, and lasting relationships through projects addressing environmental protection, community crises, vulnerable groups, and community involvement.
As a stakeholder representative, I attended a consultation during a UN World Cultural Heritage inspection visit to Liangzhu. My involvement in community development and public-interest work totals more than 3,000 hours.
2020
Hangzhou Normal University Alibaba Business School
Since 2020, I have served as an industry mentor at Hangzhou Normal University’s Alibaba Business School, teaching first- through fourth-year undergraduates courses including “Design Thinking,” “Product Thinking,” and “AI-Native Thinking” each year. In 2026, I also began teaching MBA students courses including “Product Thinking in the AI Era,” “Organizational Behavior,” and “AI Business Case Studies.”
To date, I have taught more than 350 class hours to over 300 students.
2023
Alibaba Group 2023 Public-Interest Star
Alibaba Group selected me as one of 2 alumni named Public-Interest Stars from 20 projects that year.
Award citation: As a pioneer in community philanthropy, Sean organized 10 public-interest projects and 245 activities in the year preceding the award. By making community philanthropy his vocation, he helped create a place where people could realize their aspirations for everyday life and a home.
Founded
Founder of Goichi Inc.
Based in Osaka, I connect Chinese AI technology, talent, and products with Japanese companies’ industry experience and practical needs. Our work spans AI-native research and China–Japan industry exchange, leadership and organizational support, and business co-creation in Japan, helping founders and core teams collaborate across cultures and develop local operations.
Through industry research, team alignment, and market validation, we help companies understand customers, identify opportunities for collaboration, and run small pilots and proofs of concept (PoCs), bringing AI into everyday workflows and practical business applications.
2025
Hangchuang AI Camp
As a coaching partner at Hangchuang AI Camp, I work with the coaching team to provide ongoing support for AI-native founders, focusing on founder development, core team collaboration, and organizational capability. Through coaching conversations, milestone reviews, and action follow-ups, we help founders identify their real challenges, build core teams, and turn decisions into action, developing AI-native organizations suited to their stage of growth amid rapid change.
We have supported a cumulative total of 117 companies enrolled in the program.
Founded
Kansai AI Dojo
Connecting independent developers, digital nomads, students, AI professionals, and enthusiasts across Kansai. Through conversations, shared learning, and hands-on practice, we bring AI and a culture of innovation to Japan’s Kansai region.
We exchange ideas with Chinese developer communities including WaytoAGI, Datawhale, and Linkloud, and take part in Japanese technology and startup events such as Takeoff Tokyo, IVS in Kyoto, and OSE, connecting developers and founders across China and Japan.
International Publication / Third-Party Research
Liangzhu Cultural Village in international urban research
Colleen Chiu-Shee of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign examines Liangzhu Cultural Village in the Routledge open-access volume Designing Signals of Inclusion, drawing on field research from 2015 to 2025 and 68 interviews. The chapter directly quotes Yihan Shen (Shen Laoban), documents the 2018 founding of the Liangzhu Foundation, cites his 2016 book Into the Dream Town, and credits part of its visual material to Yihan Shen’s personal collection.
Colleen Chiu-Shee · “Inclusion as Innovation in Privatized China” · Routledge / Taylor & Francis
Read the open-access chapter on Taylor & FrancisWriting
Recent thinking and writing
I write about what I see in coaching, organizations, communities, and the space between China and Japan.
Contact
Let’s
Connect
You do not need a polished brief. Tell me what is actually stuck: an AI initiative that has not changed the work, a leadership team pulling in different directions, a founder carrying too much, or a company that has outgrown its old way of operating.
What can we talk about?
Putting AI into real work, leadership-team relationships, founder pressure, and changing how an organization operates
Where do we start?
A first conversation, a focused working session, or a longer coaching engagement
How to reach me
X or email. You can also begin with AI Shen Laoban above