Week 6: Silicon Valley California

From the snow of Kansas city at 6 in the morning to warm bright sunshine in Silicon valley 5 hours later: America has a diverse set of climates. This week the pace and number of activities hasn't slowed down at all. We were hosted by Stanford University who helped set up a number of great experiences. Highlights for me include going to "Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati" the law firm which looks after clients such as Google and Youtube, visiting 3 biotech start ups, hearing their stories and Visiting Burril and Co. Venture Capital firm.

Whats really hit home for me this week is that Silicon Valley really is a different kind of environment to anywhere else I've ever been. From Stanford university and their unparalleled innovation, Sandhill Road with a huge density of Venture Capital Firms (of all the VC firms in America 40% are in California) to the incredible community of Entrepreneurs, both aspiring and those who have made many millions. Its truly a unique environment for high tech start up business.
To put in perspective the wealth of the state of California, they have the same GDP as France, but half the population! In my opinion this is down to the entrepreneurial economy (and possibly the complete anomaly which is Google).

So far we have made a lot of contacts with local entrepreneurs, investors and VC's. There is a huge amount of experience in the valley waiting to be tapped who in the general case are more than happy to help and answer questions.

A model which all countries should follow to develop their entrepreneurial economies, and ultimately grow the GDP.