Hi, as I am waiting for the date of departure I am doing research on Silicon Valley and I am finding some great stuff. The more research I do the more I hear that Silicon has a certain 'energy' to it. A good vibe where people enjoy their environment and there is so much hope and faith in projects along with great risk. Experiencing this energy is one of the things I am most excited about. The only time I went to California was when I was a baby so it is exciting to return and be able to remember my experience this time. My teacher suggested an article with some great information. Here is the link

http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_27467035/silicon-valley-innovation-geography-is-destiny-says-study;

In the article there is a statement "Research centers attract extremely bright, curious, energetic and ambitious people -- people who want to change the world in a positive way. Increasingly, they want to realize their dreams in their own ventures, not buried in a large company," This was said by Steve Ciesinski, president of Global Partnerships at Menlo Park's SRI International and a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. This is one of the reasons why I am excited to go out there. Those energetic people are who I want to work with. I believe that with that energy and motivation you have some of the important keys to success. 


Some cool facts about Silicon Valley in the article that The Boston team's statistical study of Entrepreneurial Economies found out are

"Startups fare better when they aren't named after their founders."

"Corporations are six times more likely to grow than non-incorporated businesses."

"Firms with short names -- think "Google" or "Facebook" -- tend to grow richer and faster than ones with long names."

"Firms that quickly establish control over their intellectual property rights were also linked with success."