How One Question Sparked Joyce Shin’s Mission to Unlock Humanity’s Potential

Joyce Shin didn’t launch her venture from a business plan — she launched it from a purpose. As the founder of Stochastic Potential, a creativity intelligence thinktank, Joyce is building the science behind how humans and AI co-evolve in work, learning, and innovation. Her leap into entrepreneurship began when she saw a gap in how AI was shaping the human experience — and decided to do something about it. In this Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight, Joyce shares how trusting her instincts, embracing ambiguity, and starting with why helped her turn bold questions into real-world impact.

Hi, Joyce Shin! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?

Stochastic Potential is a creativity intelligence thinktank, building the science of creativity. We explore how creativity and intelligence intersect, especially as AI reshapes how we think, work, and learn. 

We work with leaders and organizations to build the mindsets, structures, and capabilities that drive meaningful innovation. Through research, advisory, and community, our impact is helping people and systems unlock our collective potential and thrive in an unpredictable world.

Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.

I finally felt like I was an entrepreneur when I stopped trying to be a square peg in a round hole. I also got encouragement from others to actually explore my ideas in the way I wanted to explore them, which built trust and confidence. I know I’m going to pivot and ideas and products will continue to change, but I feel more comfortable win my own skin. And it’s related to the work I’m researching as well: entrepreneurship is creativity in it of itself. It’s a little meta, but that’s the beauty of it 🙂

Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.

When I was exploring AI startups, I saw just how fast the pace of AI was developing and saw a gap in the market in terms of building AI repsonsibly and ethically. There wasn’t enough priorization or focus on the human side: how AI fundamentally shapes the human experience. I thought if no one was going to do it, why not me? A little support and encouragement from others gave me the push into entrepreneurship! 

Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?

Canva has been a game-changer. I use it almost daily to create assets, whether it be pitch decks, social assets, or just to noodle on ideas. It helps me bring some sort of physical manifestation to my ideas. Canva also helps structure, polish my decks: I save so much time!

We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.

Early on in my career, I always thought that if you did good work and put in the time, you’d get rewarded. But I saw that wasn’t necessarily the case. You have to advocate for yourself, your value, and work properly in order to be noticed. That realization, with the support from others in the organization, helped me build the skills to better advocate for my growth. That led me to transferring internally ultimately to run the business operations of a 160-organization. And it was upwards from there! 

What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?

I started with nailing our purpose down from the beginning. Our purpose is: To unlock humanity’s collective potential. I didn’t start with a problem, a solution, or the consumer. I started with the Why, that will ultmately drive and shape all major decisions. Starting with the purpose gave me and the business clarity for when we needed to pivot, what to prioritize, and whether we’re heading in the right direction. It’s our north star. 

What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?

You’re always going to feel behind, because there’s always something that needs to be done. That’s okay. It just means you have to get comfortable living through the ambiguity and become brutal in prioritization. And get good at sales. 

Want to dive deeper into  Joyce's work? Check out the links below!

• Visit Stochastic Potential's website: stochasticpotential.org
• Get to know more about Joyce: joyceshin.org
• Connect with Joyce Shin on LinkedIn: Joyce Shin
• Follow Joyce Shin on Instagram: @joyceshinnn
• Follow Joyce Shin on Medium: @joyceshin94
• Follow Stochastic Potential on LinkedIn: Stochastic Potential
• Follow Stochastic Potential on Instagram: @stochasticpotential