Spearheading this project has been quite a journey, both as an aspiring entrepreneur and a project manager. Let me tell you more about this exciting project, the things we’ve done, how we got here and where we’re going.

The Journey of Entrepreneurship

A trip to Silicon Valley has a certain “coolness factor” of course, but the main reason for going is to learn first-hand about entrepreneurship and the tech industry. Silicon Valley is the place to be when it comes to entrepreneurship and the tech industry. This is where the interaction between capital and ideas is still the most intensive in the world.

This will be a learning experience… During the trip we will meet  startup founders, larger companies, incubators and investors. From them we will learn about– getting funded, developing products, do’s and dont’s, how to scale, how to find your team and how to do business overseas. Additionally, from investors we will learn — how they view business ideas, how they would like to be involved, how they treat entrepreneurs, what they look to for in founders and founding teams. We will get exposure on what it’s like to work in the Valley. The goal of this trip is for all of us to move forward on our journey to becoming entrepreneurs!

The journey of project management

I started this project alone but soon discovered how vast the scope was. I knew I needed help and sought-out people to help me organize. An announcement through the entrepreneurs club resulted the formation of our highly-committed main organizing committee. The project resulted in a complex web of contacts with people in the valley which needed to be organized. Every week we have been meeting for 1 hour. We go through our different work streams and organize the next weeks work load. This turned out to be a perfect rhythm as many things are happening each week. Coordinating a team has been immensely rewarding and getting to know each teammate has been a pleasure. The trip would not have been possible without the amazing team, so a big thanks goes out to: Arpit, Cortney, David and Stephen. We have all devoted a lot of time and energy to this project and it is very satisfying to see what it is becoming.

Currently, more than 15 companies have agreed so see us and we are in talks with many more. I am very thankful for all the companies and individuals that are giving us their valuable time. We have been targeting startups, companies with entrepreneurial / tech roots, or an amazing story to tell. Also, we’ve been trying to find stories on both sides of the investment table. Our list includes some pretty impressive names and many people ask me how we got them. I will devote a different blog post on this but basically we got them all through networking. Speaking of which, this trip is also a great opportunity to expand any MBA student’s network for future opportunities. An additional benefit is that companies will also meet IESE students first hand and learn more about the students and school.

Besides the companies, we have setup other parts of the trip to ease the admin and operations side of things. First, we have a very attractive travel package, having negotiated a great discount which includes flight, hotel and local transportation. Second, we’ve launched a website (www.iesemeetsthevalley.com) which has proven to be an effective communication tool for both companies and students.  Third, we’ve setup all the administrative processes to allow students to easily sign up and pay for the trip.

From this experience, I’ve learned so much and have found myself moving forward on my journey of becoming an entrepreneur, a better project manager and a better net-worker.

Thanks to Candice and Graham in helping me write this post. You are both great teachers for a non-native speaker when it comes to writing!

I heard about these terms the first week we were here during intercultural training. I am in no way an expert so please forgive me any errors. Let me start by explaining the difference between the two terms:

Monochronic

A monochromic person has a very strict way of viewing time. Time is to be used efficient and spend on useful things. Meetings in companies need to have an agenda, start on time, follow the agenda and finish on schedule. During the meetings actual decisions are taken and real work is done. Monochrinic people like to have fixed projects with targets deadlines and outcomes. The most extreme monochromic concept is that of being able to waste time.

Polychronic

The polychromic are the opposite of this (you guessed it). For a polychromic person dealing with time is a more flexible thing. In a business context this can be seen in meetings starting later, with a limited agenda. The work is done outside meetings. For polychromic people time is more flexible. Every moment is a chance to build relationships with people and to discover new things. The most extreme quote I heard on this is: ” Life is in the hands of God, so why run for the train?”.

We have experienced that the French are generally much more towards the polychromic. For example, when the land lord made an appointment to send some builders over they showed up several hours late. Lines at the supermarket do not go very fast. At work meetings start late and begin with discussing non subject related things. The advantage of this flexibility is that it is easier to cancel or move meetings, there seems more time to relate to people. Although work and private are strictly separated.

The downside is that things progress less quick and efficient. There are less rules on outcomes and less targets. There is less to count on or plan, visitors for example are usually late.

So my question to you is: which one are you? If you come here your monochromic time view will be challenged if it is not at work it will be somewhere else.  I know mine has.