Conclusion & Reflection - Silicon Valley Accelerate Program #SVA17

This is the 5th and final part of my journey attending Bruce Walker's "We Are The Future - Silicon Valley Accelerate Program in April 2017.

Click here to read Part 1. Click here to read Part 2.

Click here to read Part 3. Click here to read Part 4.

Friday

Friday saw the culmination of the visits and the one that had me the most worried. This was THE BIG PITCH- and for someone who has only recently entered this world of the stand-up pitch, I certainly had some trepidation. More about that later though.

Team Session

We started the day with a final team session and some exercises. Golden Gate Park at the start of the week was good, and Stanford University was pretty cool, but our final venue is the one that I think will stick in my mind. It was a park in a forest where we wandered along some paths until we found a large area shaded by trees in what was now heading towards being a glorious Californian day.

The session had a similar basis to the previous ones with a mix of serious, contemplative, fun and slightly uncomfortable exercises. We got a chance to discuss and reflect in different pairings our thoughts on the week. Even the uncomfortable stuff wasn't really that bad because now it was with friends rather than with people we were just meeting for the first time. That in itself speaks volumes for the program and the team that organised it.

Silicon Valley Bank

Back in the van, we headed back to Sand Hill Road to meet Priya Rajan and John Lee who run the Early Stage Practice at SVB.

We sat in the large and impressive board room and had an initial talk about how SVB works with its clients- particularly those in the early stages. To be honest, calling it a "bank" is a bit of a misnomer. There's certainly nothing in the UK I can think of that helps start-up companies to the level they do and it's something the UK should really be looking to emulate.

Then, it was time for the three-minute pitch. Now I should point out - the pitch-pros in the group had already supplied Bruce with their three-minute pitch deck. Yes, there is such a thing and no, I did not have one. What I had done was thrown together four slides the day before on the basis I would use them as a memory jog. Due to a technical mistake on my behalf (i.e. I shut down my laptop before the email had gone...), Bruce didn't have my slides.

I’d also just watched most of the team pitch before me and every single person had upped their game, massively. No pressure then.

And then it was my turn. Up in front of a room full of people with no slides for a safety net, giving my pitch. It felt great and all the nerves just disappeared!

The combination of four days of solid short-pitching, my longer pitch at SBN that week and having pitched at SBN London a couple of weeks earlier, it just flowed. Like everybody, I got a fantastic applause at the end and any worries that I might be the worst were dispelled. I had some great questions and feedback from Priya and John, all the while feeling like my legs were going to go out from under me. Strange thing nerves and adrenaline.

It was then outside for our final team photo and a very interesting exercise which I won't divulge in case anyone reading this finds themselves on this amazing trip.

Apple

Bruce then had a quick meeting with Apple (like one does), so we decided to hang out there while he was inside. There was a chance to browse THE Apple Store, with some of the more enterprising members of the team going around all the display machines and leaving their company website on view. Classy!

It's Done

We all caught up that night for a final get-together and reflection on the week and it was over, but only for now. Then, just like we'd arrived, we all dispersed and started on various journeys back home, extended the stay in Silicon Valley, or headed off to other parts of the US in search of business.

Reflection

I went on this trip with no real expectations other than it sounded intriguing. It wasn't something I could do myself and I figured the group of people could be interesting to hang out with. Sometimes it’s just about liberating yourself from the office, something we'd covered on the Growth Advantage Programme a couple of weeks earlier. The schedule looked reasonably easy and I thought I would have plenty of me-time to keep a few business things bouncing along.

I can honestly say I was blown away. It was full-on every day. If we weren't in front of all these amazing people, we were peer-mentoring each other.

I could write the same again about how amazing and life changing this trip was. It's certainly given me some dilemmas to ponder as to where my business goes next.

Looking at the people that went this year, I reckon the barrier for selection is pretty high and it's the small size of the group that really makes it work. However, if you work in tech, I would seriously encourage you to apply. It will completely change your mindset - guaranteed.

https://www.wearethefuture.org.uk/silicon-valley

www.exmos.com