Out of the Cornfields & Into the Valley
My takeaways from visiting the epicenter of innovation & tech
Imagine being surrounded by the brightest minds in technology, where the world’s most innovative companies were born… That’s exactly where I found myself last week, as I ventured into Silicon Valley, CA, with 24 other ambitious students from UIUC who share a passion for startups.
Put on by the Technology Entrepreneurship Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, this weeklong trek to the mecca of tech was an experience I will never forget.
Here were my takeaways from the week📝
1. Be in the Room
Billionaire Tom Siebel said: to “play the game” you need to have a seat at the table. So, how do you do that?? You go to where interesting things are happening. For me, I realized that is where fascinating people are working on cool things.
I experienced this on a micro scale with the good lookin’ group I traveled with. There was something intoxicating about being around 2 dozen other ambitious, intellectually curious people for a week. The hotel room conversations we had were energizing and challenging. We gave feedback on each others’ side projects, shared startup experiences, and told a lot of good stories… It’s not too often you find people who go from strangers to good friends within 24 hours.
On the macro scale, the serendipity of bumping into a wicked successful entrepreneur in Silicon Valley is high… Heck, a few friends met Michael Seibel, Co-Founder of Twitch and YC Partner, at a jazz bar we passed through.
2. Reflect to know where you are and where you want to go
So many people I've met take a back-seat approach and allow life to take its course. However, on this trip, I saw the impact of having a clearly defined purpose… Reflection helps us find direction. Without it, we are like a boat being carried aimlessly by currents.
Reflection is the engine that gets us moving toward something. Don’t let yourself become a drifting boat. Individuals with a destination and a little ambition are a dangerous combination.
3. Web3 and AI are a BIG deal
What do you do when decorated entrepreneurs, CEOs, and venture capitalists tell you they are investing time to understand web3 and AI? You listen and do the same. The best time to start learning about these technologies was yesterday. Here’s where you can get started:
Vijay Karunamurthy, Head of Engineering at one of the biggest AI companies on the planet, Scale AI, drove this point home when he stated generative AI is the most exciting upcoming field. This is an emerging technology you want to understand.
4. Moving fast > Being right all the time
Instead of elaborate planning, analysis, and twiddling your thumbs Tom Sun, Founder and CEO of ampUp, wants you to move fast and break things. Focus on continuous iterative improvements to your product and actually talk to your customers to get feedback. Execution is the name of the game.
5. Start with Culture
Out of all the companies we visited, big or small, startup or established, a strong culture was foundational to their success. Nitesh Trikha, CPO of View Inc., summarized the importance of culture simply:
great culture➜ attracts great people➜ allows you to build great products
CEO of Malwarebytes, Marcin Kleczynski shared this sentiment when he told stories of employees staying past midnight conversating over a drink at their office speakeasy.
If people want to hangout here past midnight we are doing something right
6. Discomfort = Growth
Roger Dickey, Co-Founder of Made Renovation and investor in 15+ unicorns, put it clearly as day:
You learn pretty fast when you’re strapped to a rocket
I don’t know about you, but being on the team of a startup with rocketship growth sounds pretty nerve-racking. Nevertheless, being along for the ride is the best way to learn.
Getting out of your comfort zone keeps you from the pitfalls of comfortability and stagnation.
Here are two skills I am refining through discomfort that were emphasized across the week:
- communication — this separates good engineers from great leaders
- storytelling — because people like listening to stories
7. There are so Many Different Ways to Win
Jawed Karim, Co-Founder of YouTube, prioritized school over the company, Martin Neumann, COO of View Inc., emphasized first principles, Sundari Mitra, CIO of Intel, believed you should focus on what brings you joy, Shawn Carolan, Partner at Menlo Ventures, thought fundamental skills win, Kelly Berger, Co-Founder of Level Up, stressed the importance of going deep into a couple of areas, and the list goes on…
The takeaway here is that there is an abundance of ways to find success. Regardless of what that means to you, a common theme throughout the week was to focus on your strengths, get really good at them, don’t look back, and be kind to others along the way.
A week this good doesn’t happen by accident. First, a special thank you to the team that worked magic to make this week one I will never forget. Stephanie, Kearsa, Jed, and Amy thank you, thank you, thank you. You are all rockstars and the work put into this trip was noticed and commendable.
And to all of the amazing founders, venture capitalists, executives, engineers, and specialists who spoke with us, thank you for sharing your wisdom and pouring it into us, the next generation. I hope to serendipitously bump into you all at a Jazz Bar sometime soon.
#SVEW23 Out 👋
