How The Silicon Valley Trip Transform Me Into An Entrepreneur

ENTREPRENEURSHIP SERIES

From Techie to Entrepreneur

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The air of Silicon Valley is thick with dreams and the electric buzz of ideas sparking to life. When I first stepped onto the storied grounds of this technological mecca in 2016 as part of the MDEC delegation, I was struck by the place’s profound sense of possibility.

This is where giants like Apple and Facebook stand tall, monuments to innovation and human ingenuity.

Back then, my ambitions were relatively modest — I aspired to be a CTO. But Silicon Valley has a way of expanding your horizons and reshaping your dreams.

A Change of Heart

The realization struck me as I walked through the campuses of Google and Facebook and mingled with the visionaries who tread those paths: each of these legendary companies began with nothing more than a simple yet powerful idea.

In that moment of clarity, I felt my direction pivot. The seed that would grow into FAVORIOT, my dream IoT startup, was sown.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

The Computer History Museum offered a tangible narrative of our technological evolution, from bulky vacuum valves to the sleek smartphones of today.

It was a pilgrimage through history, standing face-to-face with the milestones of progress, including the very first Apple computers.

Each artifact echoed with stories of challenges overcome and milestones achieved, and I absorbed it all.

Where Unicorns Are Born

My visit to the Plug and Play Tech Center further catalyzed my shifting aspirations. It’s a place that has incubated startups like Dropbox, a reminder that unicorns are not just mythical creatures in this valley — they are real, and they started small.

“Why not me?” became a mantra that carried me forward.

Pitching and Learning

In Silicon Valley, the lifeblood is not just in its behemoths of tech, but in the thriving culture of sharing and collaboration. Pitching at Hero City was as nerve-wracking as it was exhilarating, offering feedback and camaraderie in equal measure.

It was in the casual collisions — in cafes, in parks, across the sprawling campuses of tech giants — that potential collaborations sparked.

The Ultimate Lesson

What I learned from my Silicon Valley experience was the limitless nature of ambition. Age and background do not matter if an idea and a passion drive you forward.

In Silicon Valley’s nurturing ecosystem, everyone is rooting for your success.