The Silicon Valley Bank Trek
January 4-8, 2016
Anyone can read Ev Williams' daily posts on Medium, listen to Sam
Altman's podcast, watch a Tina Sharkey TED talk, or follow Semil Shah's
blog Haywire, but few will have an audience with all of these luminaries
during their lifetime, let alone over a four day event. Yet that's the
experience twenty-three students, from twelve Universities had when they
met face to face with twenty-one notable innovators and investors during
the Silicon Valley Bank Trek 2016.
The hub of the event was Silicon Valley Bank's WeWork space, in the
historic Golden Gate Theatre, in the heart of San Francisco's Mid Market
neighborhood.
Welcome to The Trek
Silicon
Valley Bank
Trek 2016
Day 1 SVB Trek 2016: Speed Meeting
The attendees were diverse in age, experience and interests - some
business veterans seeking MBAs, computer engineers, Life Science
majors, and even entrepreneurs on the verge of launching their first startup.
Embracing the opportunity to impact the gender gap in the start-up world,
nearly 70% of the Trek participants were women, all selected by advisors
from leading Universities and venture partners.
To champion the next generation of innovators, Silicon Valley Bank partners
with university advisors and tech industry leaders to create a unique
opportunity for students.
Fully immersed in SF's
tech scene, students
walked to Twitter,
Medium, and Obvious
Ventures where they
gained insights to
formulate their own
businesses and
inspiration to tackle the
world's biggest
problems.
Silicon Valley's home-town bank was joined by some of its closest
neighbors on Sand Hill Road to share their knowledge with student
innovators. From a casual food truck lunch in their joint parking lot with
Kleiner Perkins, to a private session with Scot Kupor at Andreessen
Horowitz [A16Z] - the neural network that comprises Silicon Valley was
brought into focus.
Throughout the Trek,
industry luminaries
were paired off to
engage in frank and
intimate conversations
about their role in the
innovation economy.
Longtime friends,
Aileen Lee (Cowboy
Ventures) and Tina
Sharkey (Sherpa
Foundry) shared a
stage for the first time
and led a discussion
on a range of startup
topics, giving insights
on the personal
challenges that come
with being an
entrepreneur.
Acquisitions: Lessons from All Sides
with insights from Jess Verrilli, Twitter.
Innovation Across the Table
Chef David Barzelay (Lazy Bear) and Ryan Sarver (RedPoint Ventures) talk
candidly about their non-traditional paths, unique stories and approaches
to "deconstructing" industries, e.g. underground dinners and Luxe Valet.
Tom Conrad, pioneer
of the ground
breaking, predictive
and adaptable
music service,
Pandora.
In a salon-style
conversation, Tom
spoke with close
friend Jennifer Lum
(Adelphic) about
working with
founders, building
and scaling a
business,
and life after IPO.
Gareth and company
discuss the parameters
of what is now coined
"frontier tech" and
bestow a lens into the
future where these new
categories will
dominate our everyday
lives.
Gareth Keane,
Qualcomm Ventures
with Emily Leproust,
Twist Bioscience;
Chris Wake, Spire;
Tim Harrison,
Swift Navigation
The Science and Art of Design
John Maeda (Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers) discussed with students
how the mind of an artist and designer can play a role in society and the
world of technology.
Introduction to Venture Capital through the Lens of Machine Learning
and AI
Nan Li,
Obvious Ventures
Finding the Right
Medium
From 140 Characters
to Long Format Story
Telling. Ev Williams and
David Hornik tell their
personal stories and
express their views on
how mediums can be
tools to share passions
and enhance ideas.
Ev Williams,
Medium with
David Hornik,
August Capital
From the streets of San Francisco to Sand Hill Road, the SVB Trek provides
today's innovators an immersive experience inside the innovation ecosystem.
Sam Altman takes us on a tour of YC Combinator while sharing life
lessons and insights gained while pursuing his mission to enable
innovation and fund early startups.
From Pay Pal Mafia to Silicon Valley Bank Trek
Ashraf Hebela, SVB Chief of Staff and Trek architect gave students an
insider's view of the innovation economy. His Neural Map of Silicon Valley
demonstrates that it's the "connections" between people that drive the
tech industry.
By the end of the Trek, it's
clear that Ashraf's neural
map has come to life. At
the closing dinner, there's
a sense of community and
connection.
Market Street in San Francisco
A shout out to all the students who participated in the Silicon Valley Bank
Trek 2016, and especially to our clients, partners and the universities who
made it all possible.
John China & the entire SVB Trek Team
University Partners
Brown University
Cornell University
Harvard University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ohio State University
Reykjavik University
Stanford University
Texas A&M
University of California, Berkeley
University of Michigan
University of Notre Dame
Wharton Entrepreneurship
SVB Trek 2016
Guest Speakers & Hosts
Aileen Lee, Cowboy Ventures
Chris Wake, Spire
David Barzelay, Lazy Bear
David Hornik, August Capital
Emily Leproust, TwistBioscience
Ev Williams, Medium
Gareth Keane, Qualcomm Ventures
Jennifer Lum, Adelphic
Jess Verrilli, Twitter
John Maeda, Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Beyers
Nakul Mandan, Lightspeed Ventures
Nan Li, Obvious Ventures
Ryan Sarver, Redpoint Ventures
Sam Altman, Y Combinator
Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, The Boardlist
Scott Kupor, Andreessen Horowitz
Semil Shah, Haystack
Tim Harrison, Swift Navigation
Tina Sharkey, Sherpa Foundry
Tom Conrad, Pandora
Special acknowledgement to SVB Trek 2015 alumni
and our industry partners
Bastiaan Janmaat, StartX
Scott Weiss, Andreessen Horowitz
DJ Patil, US Chief Data Scientist
Danielle Morrill, Mattermark
Andy Sparks, Mattermark
Jason Mendelson, Foundry Group
Joe Lonsdale, Formation 8
Mike John Baptiste
Jon Feiber, dschool
Paul Staelin, Birst
Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital
Theresia Gouw, Aspect Ventures
Tiffany Apczynski, Zendesk
Tim Pauly, WeWork
About Silicon Valley Bank
For more than 30 years, Silicon Valley Bank
(SVB) has helped innovative companies and
their investors move bold ideas forward,
fast. SVB provides targeted financial
services and expertise through its offices in
innovation centers around the world. With
commercial, international and private
banking services, SVB helps address the
unique needs of innovators. Forbes named
SVB one of America's best banks (2015) and
one of America's best-managed companies
(2014). Learn more at svb.com.
Silicon Valley Bank is the California bank
subsidiary and commercial banking
operation of SVB Financial Group (Nasdaq:
SIVB), and a member of the FDIC. Silicon
Valley Bank and SVB Financial Group are
members of the Federal Reserve System.