Jonah Zankl
March 8, 2018
Silicon Valley tour puts students at the nucleus of startup culture
Pop culture depictions of Silicon Valley success show us scrappy young startups pulling all-nighters, followed by a meteoric rise to the top of the tech world, leaving everyone asking them, 鈥淗ow did you do it?鈥
In February 2018, 16 草莓污视频导航 students travelled to Silicon Valley to learn from successful entrepreneurs how they did it 鈥斅燼nd how much more there is to it than we may have been led to believe.
Students got up close and personal with entrepreneurs and investors 鈥斅燽ig names like Uber, Shopify, Azure Capital, and Relay Ventures 鈥斅燼nd the culture of Silicon Valley. Professor Sharaz Khan (Haskayne School of Business) and professor Alexander Whalley (Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts) were academic directors for the Silicon Valley Discovery Tour, working with Jenn Delconte (community manager, Startup Calgary) to organize site visits and lead the students in conversation about lessons learned along the way.
Community plus collaboration equals more for everyone
鈥淚 was pleasantly surprised with the 鈥榞rowing together鈥 philosophy exhibited by many of the tech legends,鈥 says Manpreet Deol, an undergraduate student in the Schulich School of Engineering. 鈥淭he degree to which the community is interconnected and willing to work together was impressive.鈥
鈥淭he energy and collaborative culture creates an 鈥榓ll in this together鈥 mentality which visibly results in a tide that rises all boats,鈥 agrees Alex Cossette-Fleurant, an undergraduate student from the Haskayne School of Business.
The ecosystem is critical
鈥淚t was an amazing experience to be given the opportunity to compare that to what I know about Calgary鈥檚 entrepreneurial community, to see ways in which Calgary can continue to develop our ecosystem, and to fully understand the opportunities Canadian entrepreneurs have both at home and abroad,鈥 says Miranda Mantey, an undergraduate student in the Haskayne School of Business.
Above all 鈥斅爂et ready to work hard
鈥淓very single entrepreneur we heard from told us that even though they are successful, they struggled for success the entire time,鈥 says Mantey. 鈥淭heir experience has been characterized by putting out fire after fire, fixing problem after problem. Even some that have a thriving company say they still find it as difficult as when they started, because they never stop caring.鈥
鈥溾楴ot here for second place鈥 鈥斅爐he energy that surrounds the Silicon Valley ecosystem was summed up in five words on the wall of Shopify Kit, words that resonated deeply within myself and my peers,鈥 says Jonah Zankl of the Faculty of Arts. 鈥淩egardless of dreams, plans, backgrounds, and the struggle that entrepreneurs face, everyone is united in their pursuit of聽solving customer problems and delivering incredible value.鈥
Maggie Young
Tour created opportunities for students to learn and network with the greats
The Silicon Valley Discovery Tour included visits to venture capital firms, tours of several incubators/accelerators including Rocketspace, and social events where students networked with Calgarian, Canadian, and 草莓污视频导航 alumni entrepreneurs who are active in Silicon Valley.
鈥淭he students were amazing ambassadors for the university and the city of Calgary, and we had an incredible time within the group, and with our hosts and guests,鈥 says Claire Dixon, director - operations for Creative Destruction Lab 鈥 Rockies. 鈥淚 believe that these types of experiential opportunities are incredibly meaningful and inspirational for the students, and will be an aspect of their 草莓污视频导航 experience that they look back on as something that fundamentally impacted their learning and professional development.鈥
The program drew over 70 applications from undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs from across campus. In the end, 16 were selected on the basis of their academic and/or professional engagement in technology, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial thinking and experience in the startup community. Twelve of the 16 participants are actively engaged in a startup.听
罢丑别听聽is the 草莓污视频导航鈥檚 new multidisciplinary initiative to engage and immerse students, faculty, staff, alumni and the community in a culture of entrepreneurial thinking, challenging them with a new and bold approach to teaching, learning, discovery and knowledge-sharing.听To stay up to date on Haskayne School of Business tours and events, visit the聽.听
Maggie Young, Jenn Delconte and Miranda Mantey