Growing up in the Bay Area in the ‘50s (that makes me prehistoric), I remember when “The Valley” was a collection of orchards, farms, and two-lane regional roads — not Oracle, Intel and Central Expressways. With my family, riding down El Camino Real (before 101) in my dad’s Buick Roadmaster to visit friends and relatives, we would “go to the country” — “andare in campagna,” as my Italian-born parents would say. Who would have known some 35 years later I would be driving these same areas, one off-ramp to another, as part of a marketing and communications team consulting for little known startups like Apple, Intel, Microsoft, and Genentech, and scores of others that didn’t survive the day.
Today, Silicon Valley is both a place and a state of mind. Over the past few months, participants in the Mind the Bridge Startup School have experienced a sampling of both. As an instructor and mentor, I have had the privilege of sharing my Valley Experience with some of Italy’s brightest start-uppers and entrepreneurs. With our team of dedicated faculty and coordinators, we spent three weeks learning how to best clarify and communicate each other’s vision — from value proposition to elevator pitch and venture financing, to business models, team building, and exit strategy.
But Startup School is more than conveying the basics of Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurship. Our mission is not about creating entrepreneurial rock stars (although we certainly have some). It’s really about enabling participants to have “The Silicon Valley Experience.” Although I could try and wax eloquently about this, a sampling of our recent participants says it better:
“The best part of Startup School was the Silicon Valley experience. This is so different from what you get in Italy, and so helpful. Even at the University of Bocconi, one of Italy’s best business schools, nobody thinks about entrepreneurship. It’s a pity!” — Simone Lini, August 2011
“Despite our long history of innovation that has changed the world, today’s Italy has huge barriers to entrepreneurship. But we haven’t stopped dreaming. For me the biggest impact of the Startup School was experiencing the positivity of Silicon Valley, believing in yourself and keeping your passion alive.” — Jacopo Chirici, March 2012
“Besides learning new skills, and gaining invaluable Silicon Valley contacts, Startup School was truly an adventure that taught me how to better communicate my ideas, as well as share them with others.” — Valerio Castelli, March 2012
“This experience was one of the best of my life…about how much important it is to explain your product, your vision, that’s something we don’t care about so much in my country. Mind The Bridge is one of the best things I ever did and attended. Keep going with that, always better and keep going with your lessons, they are priceless.” — Stefano Bellasio, August 2012
And so we end another session of Startup School. For the participants I hope this is the end of a new beginning.