Dear Reader,
Sorry for mispronouncing Medvedev’s Name! Again the darn formatting. I know I owe you more blog entries ~ patience is a virtue. Thanks for coming back, the hits have increased greatly. This is just the beginning. Rome wasn't built..., etc.
Check this out on Chirbit
New Proposed Venture:
Fostering a Dynamic Europe
Facilitated by
This is my latest proposed project which was developed last year when I had returned to Cupertino Ludwig Maximilians University , Munich Munich
Today Hans-Dieter is working as an independent journalist in science and in ICT which stands for information and communication technology. He is also a writer and with fellow physicist Lorenz Teufel he co-authored the book: “Was zu bezweifeln war” which can perhaps loosely be translated as: “Could there be any doubts?” The authors guide their reader through a history of scientific insight and come up with some extraordinary findings which denote that the claim that science is an exponent of truth is as untenable as the notion of an objective world out there existing independently from the observer – in other words the Hans-Dieter and Lorenz are treating the central mysteries of quantum physics.
The conference “Building Innovation Bridges between Silicon Valley and Europe” was held on May 13, 2010, in Palo Alto , Silicon Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, California Germany ’s ‘Green Party’) and facilitated by Dr. Sven Schade, Policy Officer, EC Support to Innovation, Directorate-General for Enterprise
The timing of the conference could not have been any more perfect: Prompted by a perceived challenge due to globalization and a knowledge-driven world economy, the European Council had held a special meeting in March of 2000 in Lisbon
For instance, few of the growing European high-tech centers have created a new IT industry (e.g. semiconductors, the PC, or storage systems). An exception may be Nokia which (didn’t invent, but) commercialized mobile telephony (Ericsson is a similar case). Few European entrepreneurs have developed paradigm-shifting innovations (like e-mail, an Internet search engine, desktop publishing, or YouTube) – Skype being an exception. As a consequence few companies like SAP have emerged that could parallel those in Silicon Valley (HP, Intel, Apple, Yahoo, or Google - just to name of few), most of which have been the true US and international leaders in their fields for decades.
What is required is a fresh way of thinking which the spirit of the Valley can provide: Perhaps Silicon Valley can show the way. Below are some of the characteristics that have made Silicon Valley unique:
- Passion of start-ups which often require - especially in the initial phase - great flexibility, long working hours, postponement of financial reward, and the ability to be highly productive under pressure
- Extremely high spirit of risk taking
- Exceptional culture of the innovation process itself; high creativity and inductive approaches
- Mentality of considering or even welcoming ‘failure’ as a valuable experience
- Availability of VC and angel funding (not government subsidies or large banks as ‘investors’ as in Europe !)
- Availability of Stanford as a world-class academic institution having spawned the Valley’s success throughout its history
- Environment in which personal financial rewards (the desire to become wealthy) is fully accepted
- Tremendous cultural diversity with many expats and students predominantly from Asia and - to a lesser extent - Europe
- Extraordinary team work within small groups
- Strong, continuing collaboration between universities and the private sector
- Large number of organizations and events that foster and facilitate networking, exchange of ideas, and mental fertilization
- Other superb innovation support services (e.g. patent attorneys)
- Highly trained, motivated, and determined work force
- Attractive living environment.
Apart from that there were, of course, the historic prerequisites of the region, some of which should not and others which unfortunately cannot be easily duplicated (Cold War, the classified arena, large government expenditures for fundamental research at national labs, generous R&D funding of private corporations).
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Dr. Hans-Dieter Radecke and I are proposing a project that is pursuing these goals of enlivening Europe’s innovative strength and fulfilling some of the mission of the “Lisbon Strategy” - albeit belated. The projects listed below have the goal to create a Silicon Valley-like mix of players, ecosystem, infrastructure, and spirit - each of the projects is meant to contribute a unique aspect. We hope that the combined efforts would result in a synergistic effect, slowly but surely bringing about a profound transitional shift.
And (wishful thinking) the European work ethic, lifestyle, long-term thinking, thorough planning, and cultural aspects would perhaps hold some charm (at least) for SV’s nonstop, one-track mind actions. A Win-Win proposition? Who knows….
Hans-Dieter and I intend to head this new venture and to spearhead and facilitate the projects outlined below. We are looking for cofounders and sponsors. The founding members have to understand that this venture is an idealistic, high-level, conceptual, and certainly long-range attempt requiring stamina and determination to skillfully, patiently, and diplomatically work with a lot of different players in Europe and Silicon Valley, mostly in the private sector, in academia, and in politics. Our work will be successful when the European IT centers will routinely be spawning mind-boggling innovations, when large corporations will be emerging today from yesterday’s start-ups, and when novel industries will be setting the trends of the future.
Editorial Coverage
As a start, Hans-Dieter and I are planning to cover the following topics:
- The historic development of the Valley and its unique ecosystem
- The state of the European IT/ICT Centers
- Introduction of the projects below to inspire a Silicon Valley-like infrastructure and its mix of players with the goal of introducing Silicon Valley's Unique Spirit to Europe's Growing ICT Centers.
Foster Greater Cooperation among the Different European High-Tech Clusters
I learned that the “Italian Angels for Growth - IAG” and the Greek Corallia Clusters Initiative have been successfully interacting with the French high-tech center Sophia-Antipolis.
- Inspire interaction and collaboration among the European tech centers by facilitating communication, brainstorming, and an exchange of thoughts and information
- Apart from the networking facilitated by web conferencing and personal visits, the individual clusters could play host on a rotating basis to a yearly “European High-Tech Center Conference” to present best practices, what works, and success stories.
Inspire Greater Interaction within the Individual European ICT Clusters
We propose to duplicate some of the many organizations, initiatives, or companies of the Valley whose mission is to foster an interaction of the various players for the benefit of the entire community. These special interest groups have been organizing events, forums, and conferences for networking and dialogue through presentations, key note speakers, panel discussions, interviews, workshops, and roundtable meetings.
These are some of the groups which are prevalent in the Valley and which have been serving the Valley and contributing to its success:
- Silicon Valley Leadership Group
- Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network
- The Churchill Club
- The Keiretsu Forum
- VC Taskforce
- Dealmaker Media - Growth Through Connection
- Cleantech Group LLC
- Cleantech Open
- Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs
- Software Development Forum
- Silicon Valley WebGuild
- Forum for Women Entrepreneurs & Executives
Due to the cultural variety in the Valley there are also a number of international business and professional associations which offer outstanding informative and networking events:
- The German American Business Association - GABA
- Silicon French
- Business Association Italy America - BAIA
- Singapore America Business Association - SABA
- The Indus Entrepreneurs
Think Tank Comprised of European Expats
- Select a group of European expats in the Valley and invite them to participate in a Think Tank to brainstorm, devise strategies, and help implement ideas that would facilitate the development of a SV-like ecosystem at the European IT/ICT Centers
- Subject matters could include venture or angel funding, the mentality of risk taking, and the frustration tolerance for - or the lack of negative perception of - failure.
I was told that this project had been successfully carried out by Taiwan about 15 years ago.
Regular Educational Web Conferencing Program
Alternating between A) and B) on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis
A) Feature a typical topic from the Valley: success story of a serial entrepreneur (but also the struggles and the loneliness of an entrepreneur); venture/angel culture; the workings of a start-up (24/7, no pay, pizza, and coke); and the work and the contributions of one of the “innovation support organizations” (list of groups available)
B) Present one of the European Innovation Centers and their historic development; their specialty fields, entrepreneurs, and successful innovations; challenges/ problems and how to address/solve them.
European Students in the Bay Area: One Semester followed by Internship
Every year a group of students from the leading European universities would be traveling to the Bay Area to
- Study one semester at Stanford or Berkeley and/or
- Conduct an internship at a SV company during the remainder of the time
The contacts made and friendships forged will lead to an improved interaction among the European entrepreneurial community and SV. I was thrilled when I came across the Singapore initiative http://www.nusea.org/which has exactly been implementing this model very successfully for many years. What a small nation state can do, Europe should be able to take on and copy!
Conference at SAP, Stanford, or elsewhere:
European Cluster CEOs and Best Innovators ‘Strut their Stuff’
- Have the fledgling European innovators showcase their developments to the Valley community
- Invite the SV venture capital, angel groups, and high-tech firms to review the presentations.
A similar event took place last year at Stanford titled “Bridging the Gap Workshop:
Entrepreneurship in Greece and Synergies with Silicon Valley”
http://stanford.edu/group/hellas/cgi-bin/wp/?page_id=289 which was so well received that a second conference is being prepared for 2011.
http://stanford.edu/group/hellas/cgi-bin/wp/?page_id=289 which was so well received that a second conference is being prepared for 2011.
Mentorship Program “From Innovation to Start-Up”
- Seasoned serial entrepreneurs in Europe are inspired to be lending a helping hand to students and young entrepreneurs and guide them (in an informal and more personal way) through the technology application and commercializing process of their developments
- This group of mentors is complemented by the more formal work of venture capitalists who are also routinely taking the fledgling start-ups under their wings.
“Think big, fail fast!” - SV VC Groups to Visit Europe
A lesson in risk taking and acceptance of ‘failure’ from SV VCs
- Arrange for SV venture capitalists to tour some of the European IT centers, research labs, and major IT universities to get a comprehensive insight into their operations and their mentality
- Entrepreneurs would be making presentations and showcase their innovations
- SV VCs, in turn, talk about their modus operandi which seems to be non-existent in Europe
- Could be supported by and conducted in cooperation with the European Business Angel Network (EBAN) and Italian Angels for Growth - IAG.
It is very well known that venture and angel funding is much less available to European entrepreneurs and start-ups. Please review: “Europaeische Wagniskapitalisten zu schwerfaellig” (European venture capitalists too languid): http://www.silicon.de/cio/b2b/0,39038988,39190894-3,00/europaeische+wagniskapitalisten+zu+schwerfaellig.htm
Do as the Russians Do: Ask Silicon Valley and Arnold for Support
President Medvedev Invites Silicon Valley to Russia
http://www.america.gov/st/business-english/2010/July/20100702161130cpataruk0.8278009.html
http://www.america.gov/st/business-english/2010/July/20100702161130cpataruk0.8278009.html
“I would like to have my visit be translated into full-fledged relations and into cooperation with those [Silicon Valley] companies," Medvedev said at a reception hosted by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Medvedev wants to modernize the Russian economy by encouraging information technology, biotechnology, clean energy technology and nuclear technology startups and research and development. Medvedev received a pledge of support from Schwarzenegger, who said he will lead a high-tech trade mission to Russia to bolster the chances of Skolkovo’s success. The Russian president was escorted by the governor as he called on several Silicon Valley business leaders June 23, 2010.
Notes
We are currently compiling a comprehensive listing of “SV-like” European IT clusters and are welcoming contributions. We have already contacted and received positive feedback from several European groups whose mission is similar and who would like to join our efforts.
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Write to us: CultivatingEnjoyment_at_gmail_dot_com
Write to us: CultivatingEnjoyment_at_gmail_dot_com
