Exploring Frisco

Traffic in and near San Francisco is horrible. The Same trip that takes 50 minutes without traffic might take 2 and a half hours during the peak hours. Our hotel was still in San Jose on Thursday while we tried to make our way to the city with presumably millions of other cars. There is no recognizable public transportation in the bay area so there we no other option than crawl in the line and sing karaoke while trying to make our way to the downtown. Sad but true, most of the cars had just one passenger.

Supercell

Our first excursion was supposed to start at 10 in the morning in the Supercell office but we were 30 minutes late because of the traffic. Aside from learning not to underestimate traffic, we had an amazing opportunity to learn about Supercell’s marketing operations.

Dottirlaw

Dottirlaw is a law company that is specialized to startup companies. We met two guys, Pietari Gröhn and Edgar Tirado, who told us what it requires to start a company in the Valley. We discussed in details about law, funding, different company forms, valuation and the biggest differences between Finland and the states.

Sudden Coffee

Our last company visit was to Sudden Coffee, in which we met its Finnish co-founder Kalle Freese. Kalle is one of the world’s best baristas and a serial entrepreneur. Sudden Coffee is his seventh company that operates in the same warehouse in which myth busters have done their experiments. We were able to taste Kalle’s product, world’s best instant coffee, while he told us about his experiences. It seems that it is easier to start up a company than get a visa in the States.

Finnilän löylyt

Finnilän löylyt is a “secret society” to all Finnish living in the San Francisco area. We got a chance with a help of Pietari Gröhn to participate to their event in the Nordic Innovation House, which helps Nordic companies to start operating in Silicon Valley. We had a great chance to chat with many great and inspiring people. If you ever end up in Frisco, you should definitely to try to find these guys.

After the excursions we still had a long weekend to explore the wonders of San Francisco and fast food. There were still many things that we wanted to do, including finding Lombard street, Golden gate and a Tauros.

Our group is already back in Finland, but there is still so much to tell to the future generations. The trip was an amazing experience and we hope, that this blog inspires you to either apply for the next year’s study trip or to the Piste board 2017. In the board you can be part of organizing these kinds of events whether it is contacting the companies, planning the route, scheduling or booking the flights or taking part to the trip.

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