For a week, thirteen bloggers from around the world went back and forth between San Francisco and Silicon Valley to find what makes these places so special in terms of innovation.
With start-ups burgeoning on a daily basis and new exciting products flooding the market as a consequence, it’s safe to say that the Orange Blogger Bus Tour members had plenty to talk (and write) about, after the numerous meetings they had with companies and start-ups throughout the Bay Area. Today, Dr. Sue Black tells us about her adventure in California.
Sue Black – centre
How do you feel after this week spent with the Blogger Bus Tour?
Excited and energised. We spoke to so many interesting people and companies; it was a really great opportunity to feel the amazing Bay Area vibe.
What’s your main find of the week?
I don’t think I found out any one specific thing, but having chats with lots of people and companies about what they are doing and how they have done it has given me lots of ideas and some very useful ‘how to’ information. It was great to hear about failure as well and success and how and when to pivot your startup to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves.
What came as a surprise for you during your visit in Silicon Valley?
It was a lovely surprise to find out just how much most people and companies in the Bay Area help and support each other as they go through the “fail fast” iterative lifecycle. In the UK, and possibly throughout Europe, failure is seen as a very negative thing and someone who has had a company that has failed is definitely not seen as someone that investors would get behind. In the Bay Area, failure is seen as part of an education in business success, someone with no experience of failure is seen as someone who is not mature and ready for success. Everyone there wants to learn as much as they can about the failures that have happened so that they know what to do when they are in that same situation.
Which startup/company was the most appealing to you? Why?
Wow! That’s impossible to answer. I think I got something from every company that we visited from the largest companies like Google and Adobe, through to medium sized companies like Twitter and Foursquare down to the smallest one person startup like Maxwell Power that is run by a fifteen year old boy Alex. I also enjoyed the opportunity to visit Rocketspace and Plugandplay tech centre to get an insight into how incubators and accelerators work.
We came over to find out where innovation was at today. What’s the verdict?
If you are interested in innovation and tech entrepreneurship the Bay Area is THE place to be, or at least visit. Go there and drink in the excitement, hear the stories and become part of the adventure 
I’ve had several ideas for start-ups, one of which I’m already working on…watch this space! Thank you SO much Orange for giving me the opportunity to see all of these great companies and learn so much.
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