On Location: Silicon Valley

And if all else fails…

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:48:52 -0800

And if all else fails…

And so, the first-ever LehighSiliconValley comes to a close. On...

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:14:00 -0800

Chris McDemus, professor of practice

Professor Todd Watkins

Students at graduation.

LeVaughn Nesbitt '13

Christopher Kauzmann '13

And so, the first-ever LehighSiliconValley comes to a close. On Saturday evening the group reconvened for graduation at Le Meridien Park Grill. One week after touching down in San Francisco, the group leaves with a greater, deeper understanding of new-venture creation.

Chris McDemus, professor of practice (and a lawyer, and an entrepreneur), provided some parting words of wisdom. “The worst thing you can do is go back to school to your normal life,” he said. “Do something different. Take a piece of this week and incorporate it into your life.”

A Home for Entrepreneurship

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:58:12 -0800

Did you know… Lehigh is among the Top 25 Undergraduate Programs for Entrepreneurship in the country, according to the Princeton Review andEntrepreneur magazine.

"This was a life-changing experience. We learned in a week what couldn’t be replicated in a..."

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:22:21 -0800

“This was a life-changing experience. We learned in a week what couldn’t be replicated in a 15-week semester.”

- LeVaughn Nesbitt ‘13, accounting major, on LehighSiliconValley

Scenes from the MBA students’ free time in San Francisco.

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:24:00 -0800

Ferry Plaza

Jen Giordano and Nadine Haines

Scenes from the MBA students’ free time in San Francisco.

Today we’re exploring San Francisco and got our first...

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:01:41 -0800

Today we’re exploring San Francisco and got our first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge. Did you know that Lehigh’s McClintic and Marshall dorms, more commonly known as M&M, are named for 1888 graduates Howard McClintic and Charles Marshall, who built the Golden Gate Bridge?

MBA student Jen Giordano’s view of the Bay Bridge.

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:33:00 -0800

MBA student Jen Giordano’s view of the Bay Bridge.

We’re in the homestretch of LehighSiliconValley. Right now...

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:59:00 -0800

Mike Carusi '87

MBA student Rick Stuby

We’re in the homestretch of LehighSiliconValley. Right now Mike Carusi ‘87, general partner of Advanced Technology Ventures, is driving home some of the lessons the students have learned over the course of the week. Here Rick Stuby, one of the MBA students in the group, asks a question.

Tyler Walton ‘12 said he was up all night planning the...

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:31:35 -0800

Tyler Walton ‘12 said he was up all night planning the next billion-dollar idea. The team is in the final stretch of their last live case. Although tomorrow’s a free day in San Francisco, many students are trying to make connections with people and companies before returning to the East Coast.

It’s the last working day, and we’ve scrapped the...

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:08:00 -0800

It’s the last working day, and we’ve scrapped the power point presentation in order to dive into the (many) questions for Ken Ludlum ‘75, CEO of EndoGastric Solutions. Ken’s company develops new transoral incisionless procedures and products in order to advance the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.

Good morning! Preparing to go down to the last day of live case...

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:58:00 -0800

Good morning! Preparing to go down to the last day of live case presentations.

"In this business, there’s no secret sauce. Any idea can be a good idea. It’s about..."

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:33:00 -0800

“In this business, there’s no secret sauce. Any idea can be a good idea. It’s about building a product that resonates with customers.”

- Gaurav Mirchandani ‘04, Maxa Group, on how to be successful in the mobile gaming industry

Larry Bowman ‘80 rounded out the day’s events with a...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:58:00 -0800

Larry Bowman ‘80 rounded out the day’s events with a look back at his time at Lehigh and the successful career path he’s followed so far. Lehigh alumni, like Larry, have carved out a valuable space in Silicon Valley, which many of the students on this trip hope to replicate one day.

Lauren Farrell ‘13, a design arts major, introduces Larry...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:30:00 -0800

Lauren Farrell ‘13, a design arts major, introduces Larry Bowman ‘80, president and CEO of Bowman Capital Management. The students are getting a crash course in public speaking, as each takes a turn either introducing the guest speaker, or thanking them at the end of their talk.

“If I had to shrink you to the size of a fork and put you...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:20:00 -0800

“If I had to shrink you to the size of a fork and put you in a blender, how would you get out?” That’s the question Gaurav Mirchandani ‘04 (top left) of the Maxa Group posed to Robert DeVita ‘13 (top right). There’s no right or wrong answer, but it’s the type of question recently asked by Google and Goldman Sachs during job interviews. Gaurav, who clearly thinks outside the box when it comes to entrepreneurship, challenged the students to do the same as they begin to think about their own ideas and career goals.

It takes talented and experienced staff and faculty to help the...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:00:00 -0800

It takes talented and experienced staff and faculty to help the 56 students participating in this program make the most of their time in Silicon Valley. Here, professor of practice Chris McDemus, LehighSiliconValley creator Dale Falcinelli ‘70, ‘72G and adjunct lecturer Matt Bieber ‘01 enjoy a break before dinner gets underway on Thursday.

We can see San Francisco Bay from our hotel!

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:22:00 -0800

We can see San Francisco Bay from our hotel!

Bill Kirsch ‘76 spoke with the students as a continuation...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:00:00 -0800

Bill Kirsch ‘76 spoke with the students as a continuation of the morning’s live case. He’s the managing director and co-founder of Costella Kirsch, a venture-lending firm. Bill was instrumental in making valuable connections between LehighSiliconValley and many of the speakers and guests that have made this program what it is.

"What all of you are saying today is validating some of what we’re already thinking, but..."

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:37:08 -0800

“What all of you are saying today is validating some of what we’re already thinking, but I’m also hearing some new approaches that are really refreshing.”

- Shayan Zadeh, co-founder and co-CEO, Zoosk

Groups of students are presenting Shayan with future strategies...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:11:00 -0800

Groups of students are presenting Shayan with future strategies for Zoosk - everything from how to reduce the cost of customer acquisition to where the company should go next.

Another lesson learned: it’s clearly not as easy to meet people in the real world as it is in college.