Difference between revisions of "1415T1g1 Silicon Valley/Participant Information/Reflection"
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| − | <div style="font-size: 20px"> | + | <div style="font-size: 20px">Day 1: The tour</div> |
| − | <div> | + | <div>We first gathered at the City Hall of San Francisco. While waiting for the tour guide, we were amazed by the intricate architecture of the surrounding buildings. After Don, our tour guide, gave a short overview of the buildings around us, we learnt that there was a fire in 1906 that burnt down most of the buildings, including the magnificent City Hall that stood in front of us. At the same time, it’s a little sad to see many homeless people in the area. I guess SF isn’t the only city where the rich-poor divide is so apparent. |
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| + | Along the way, we visited other places of interest such as the “7 sisters”, which is a row of the most photographed houses in the bay area. The owners were smart to copyright the houses so they earn passive income through royalties. It reminds me of the owner of “Grumpy Cat”, who has recently earned millions in royalties. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Before we knew it, we were taken to the highest point in SF, Twin Peaks. Just to give you an idea of how high it was, my ears popped as the bus was coasting up the slopes. It was so foggy up there that one could barely differentiate the fog from the clouds. Thankfully, it wasn't too windy so the temperature was pleasantly refreshing when we stepped out of the bus. After countless selfies and landscape pictures, we were on our way once again. | ||
| + | |||
| + | One of the highlights of the day has to be the Golden Gate Bridge. Having seen the bridge in postcards, it was surreal seeing it up close. The story of the bridge itself was intriguing. Between the 2 towers lies a ridge 400 feet deep and about 1km long. There were many naysayers because there was no suspension bridge that could span such a length. The bridge was built in 4 years despite an economic crash. It is indeed a testament of perseverance of the people in SF. | ||
| + | </div> | ||
| + | <div style="font-size: 20px">Day 2: PayPal, Innov8 and Twillo</div> | ||
| + | <div> The first day of company visits! I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who was excited to see the companies. Our first stop was at PayPal. The panels of glass that surrounds the office bears an uncanny resemblance to Apple’s HQ. Shawn, a mobile developer in PayPal soon ushered us in and we were treated to a PayPal presentation that’s usually only shown to enterprises. With fluid transitions and real use cases, the sales guys wowed us. They claim that all of what they’ve shown us being live tested as they speak. However, no one knows if it’s going to be successful or not. Some interesting use cases were beacons and check-ins for a more personalised experience. And it ended off with a day in the life of an ideal use case. Impressive, for sure. But realistic? Debatable. Shawn then talked about his own experience working in Silicon Valley. Being really frank, he missed those times when he was still working in a startup. He lamented that things moved slower in big companies (such as PayPal). Anyone could surmise that he didn’t really like working at Paypal. But he loves working in the Valley compared to Singapore so he’s probably gonna stay. If there’s one thing that I can take away from his experience, it’s that more learning comes from working in a startup then in a big corporation. Of course, it’s tougher too but that’s life isn't it. | ||
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| + | We then visited Innov8. Interesting place. When we went there, it was a pretty empty office. Then we saw 2 guys popped out from the staircase and we soon realised that they are the only 2 people working here. It’s a venture capital arm of Singtel after all. Generally VCs are lean but control a large amount of capital. From what they say, Innov8 is doing pretty well. What was interesting to me was that Innov8 measures of success need to be tied to Singtel, albeit vaguely at times. So if one day I have a company that might be of some help to Singtel, Innov8 is probably the best way to go. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Last stop of the day was Twillo. I’ve came across their API a couple of times while browsing the web and I can’t believe I’m now at their office. Peter, a well-built guy in an orange shirt, greeted us. From Singapore many years ago, he seemed to have lost the Singaporean accent only having worked at Twillo for a year and a half. The presentation seems like a sales pitch and it didn’t really help me understand the company more than I already do. I mean I could probably get what he said from the Twillo website. That said, the walk around the premises does offer a glimpse of the benefits of working in a SF startup. Free food, pingpong, work-life balance are just some of the perks of working in Twillo. Working with amazing people is probably another unspoken perk. Peter said that he still “worked” during Chinese New Year partly because he cared about his project and the company. That’s true isn't it? If everyone is as passionate about the project as you, wouldn’t you enjoy working too? </div> | ||
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| − | <div style="font-size: 20px"> | + | <div style="font-size: 20px">Tour De San Francisco</div> |
<div> | <div> | ||
<div style="font-size: 20px">Civic Center</div> | <div style="font-size: 20px">Civic Center</div> | ||
| − | The city centre of San Francisco is no short of aesthetic virtuosity. With its intricate and exquisite taste inspired from the classical architecture, the buildings are truly remarkable. Having to first experience San Francisco with the Civic centre, I knew that San Francisco is going to be a fantastic city to be in it. | + | <div>The city centre of San Francisco is no short of aesthetic virtuosity. With its intricate and exquisite taste inspired from the classical architecture, the buildings are truly remarkable. Having to first experience San Francisco with the Civic centre, I knew that San Francisco is going to be a fantastic city to be in it. |
| − | <div> | + | </div> |
| − | <div style="font-size: 20px">Twin Peaks</div> | + | <br/> |
| − | Want a panoramic view of the entire city? Look no further, the Twin Peaks is the place to go to. We had a great time taking pictures together at the peak, it was a fun experience as a class, with many selfies and landscape photos!</div> | + | <div style="font-size: 20px">The Painted Ladies</div> |
| + | <div>In San Francisco, one should never miss this peculiar row of houses. Together as seven, placed on an inclined slope, its Victorian architecture marks its significant identity as the one of the icon of San Francisco. I was very intrigued by how these houses had to be placed homogenously yet being different at the same time (Intricacy architecture and colours), it was like the case of the Athens and Sparta effect on the street of San Francisco.</div> | ||
| + | <br/> | ||
| + | <div style="font-size: 20px"> Twin Peaks</div> | ||
| + | <div>Want a panoramic view of the entire city? Look no further, the Twin Peaks is the place to go to. We had a great time taking pictures together at the peak, it was a fun experience as a class, with many selfies and landscape photos!</div> | ||
| + | <br/> | ||
| + | <div style="font-size: 20px">The Golden Gate Bridge</div> | ||
| + | <div>No doubt, the notable icon of San Francisco have not failed me with its magnificent grandeur. With its long span of 2,737m, it's truly a remarkable piece of art across the sea channel. It was a great photo opportunity for Instagram, everyone were busy taking photos and selfies, and it was a blast! </div> | ||
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| + | <div style="font-size: 20px">Fishermen Wharf</div> | ||
| + | <div>The Fishermen Wharf is a hip cool place for tourist to enjoy the best food, drinks and music. The clam chowder is fantastic! It is warm and tasty, the clams are fresh and it was really very good.</div> | ||
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| − | < | + | <div style="font-size: 20px">Day 1</div> |
| + | People here live in a very relaxed culture. Many factors generate the overall relaxed feeling. Firstly, you don’t see people rushing, they enjoy work and life here. Secondly, we hardly see any tall buildings outside of CBD, most buildings are maximum 3 to 4 levels, the clear sky makes you feel really close to the nature. Lastly the weather is so comfortable that when you step out of the room, you feel refreshed and cannot wait to start a new day. <br><br> | ||
| + | '''Golden Gate Bridge'''<br> | ||
| + | Golden Gate Bridge was once concluded as a bridge that is impossible to build. With a deep trench in between two lands, there has no place to put the pier of the bridge in the middle of the sea. However, people still managed to complete it by building a suspension bridge so that no pier in the middle is required. And it has become the longest suspension bridge in the world. It is amazing that people about hundreds year ago were able to complete it. The determination and wisdom involved is definitely something we can remember. | ||
| + | <br> | ||
| + | <div style="font-size: 20px">Day 2</div> | ||
| + | '''Start-Up Spirit'''<br> | ||
| + | The main thing I learnt from the companies we visited is not something specific, but a spirit. It is mind blowing to see people actually work and live with such a different mindset. There are people who thinks Paypal is going to fall soon and wants to join a startup. There are people who have already quit a top 10 rising startup to join a new startup with only 3 to 5 people. The people in the valley are not afraid of failure and risk, new ideas and failures are highly appreciated. Jeff, one of our hosts from Innov8, actually explains the reason behind this, “people in the valley think of ways to bring you up when you are in trouble, but people from other places think of ways to pull you down. Everyone in the valley is trying to give back to the community.” There is no doubt that all the young people dare to try any new ideas and this provides more chances of success and lead to the overall success of the valley. | ||
| + | <br><br> | ||
| + | '''Working Culture'''<br> | ||
| + | Another different mindset they have is judging by result, not the appearance of working. Most companies have no fix working hours, you propose the work that you are going to finish this week and you schedule your own working time. This makes me think why most companies follow a strict working hours at the first place, isn’t the quantity and quality of the work done more important to the company rather than the appearance of working? | ||
| + | <br> | ||
| + | Personally, the atmosphere here really makes you want to start up your own companies. In the valley, you feel everything is possible and you can be the next one that change the whole world. | ||
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| − | <div style="font-size: 20px"> | + | <div style="font-size: 20px">Write the headings here</div> |
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Revision as of 03:23, 10 December 2014
Along the way, we visited other places of interest such as the “7 sisters”, which is a row of the most photographed houses in the bay area. The owners were smart to copyright the houses so they earn passive income through royalties. It reminds me of the owner of “Grumpy Cat”, who has recently earned millions in royalties.
Before we knew it, we were taken to the highest point in SF, Twin Peaks. Just to give you an idea of how high it was, my ears popped as the bus was coasting up the slopes. It was so foggy up there that one could barely differentiate the fog from the clouds. Thankfully, it wasn't too windy so the temperature was pleasantly refreshing when we stepped out of the bus. After countless selfies and landscape pictures, we were on our way once again.
One of the highlights of the day has to be the Golden Gate Bridge. Having seen the bridge in postcards, it was surreal seeing it up close. The story of the bridge itself was intriguing. Between the 2 towers lies a ridge 400 feet deep and about 1km long. There were many naysayers because there was no suspension bridge that could span such a length. The bridge was built in 4 years despite an economic crash. It is indeed a testament of perseverance of the people in SF.
We then visited Innov8. Interesting place. When we went there, it was a pretty empty office. Then we saw 2 guys popped out from the staircase and we soon realised that they are the only 2 people working here. It’s a venture capital arm of Singtel after all. Generally VCs are lean but control a large amount of capital. From what they say, Innov8 is doing pretty well. What was interesting to me was that Innov8 measures of success need to be tied to Singtel, albeit vaguely at times. So if one day I have a company that might be of some help to Singtel, Innov8 is probably the best way to go.
Last stop of the day was Twillo. I’ve came across their API a couple of times while browsing the web and I can’t believe I’m now at their office. Peter, a well-built guy in an orange shirt, greeted us. From Singapore many years ago, he seemed to have lost the Singaporean accent only having worked at Twillo for a year and a half. The presentation seems like a sales pitch and it didn’t really help me understand the company more than I already do. I mean I could probably get what he said from the Twillo website. That said, the walk around the premises does offer a glimpse of the benefits of working in a SF startup. Free food, pingpong, work-life balance are just some of the perks of working in Twillo. Working with amazing people is probably another unspoken perk. Peter said that he still “worked” during Chinese New Year partly because he cared about his project and the company. That’s true isn't it? If everyone is as passionate about the project as you, wouldn’t you enjoy working too?
Had a tiring Day 0, travelling and finally arriving in SF! But alas! We're going into the city to see the the tourist sites! Been 10 years since i came back to SF!
We started our tour at the Civic center checking out the different buildings that were built a long long time ago and it was impressive that they were still so well maintained.
Next we moved on to the Vantage point which features the 7 Sisters or some say the 6 Painted Ladies which are 6/7 of the most photographed houses around SF due to their prime location that features the entire SF skyline behind. It featured in the famous sitcom, Full House, which span from 1987 to 1995 - Click HERE for a link to the sitcom's intro which showcases the 7 Sisters.
After our visit to the 7 Sisters we climbed up to the Twin Peaks to get a better vantage point of the entire city, the view was impeccable and breathtaking especially since we were particularly lucky that today was not as misty as when i last came to San Francisco. We could see the entire city if i could i'd showcase pictures i took here but it'd take up too much space - probably link the Facebook images of the others in the future.
Next we visited the Golden Gate Park and Bridge, the park was particularly tranquil and we were able to visit the top of the observatory to get a 360 degree view of the entire park and the city from on top. The Golden Gate Bridge was superbly magnificent standing strong and linking up Marin & San Francisco Bay. We were able to take pictures of the iconic structure which signifies San Francisco as well as walk across to the first pillar. I was amazed by how huge the entire structure was standing at the base of one of the pillars.
At the Fisherman's Wharf, We managed to chomp down on some delectable seafood! Me, Amanda and Jun Ming shared 3 of the more famous dishes that they serve at the pier - Clam Chowder Bread Bowl, Fried Calamari with Fries and the Crab Cocktail. Later, we boarded the Red & White Fleet Cruise which brought us under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz Island. Once we were done with the cruise we were given some free time to wander around and a group of us went to the Ghirardelli Square where we sat down and had some great chocolate drinks!
The reason for this fog is attributed to the warmer temperatures from the land and the cooler temperatures from the surronding waters of the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean - when the two are brought together by sea breeze, condensation results and forms the fog. One interesting thing to note is that when the lands get warmer in summer, it brings about a thick and low cloud layer on the surface and this makes San Francisco cold even during the summer! This makes it a great city to visit all year round because of it's natural "air-conditioning".
People here live in a very relaxed culture. Many factors generate the overall relaxed feeling. Firstly, you don’t see people rushing, they enjoy work and life here. Secondly, we hardly see any tall buildings outside of CBD, most buildings are maximum 3 to 4 levels, the clear sky makes you feel really close to the nature. Lastly the weather is so comfortable that when you step out of the room, you feel refreshed and cannot wait to start a new day.
Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge was once concluded as a bridge that is impossible to build. With a deep trench in between two lands, there has no place to put the pier of the bridge in the middle of the sea. However, people still managed to complete it by building a suspension bridge so that no pier in the middle is required. And it has become the longest suspension bridge in the world. It is amazing that people about hundreds year ago were able to complete it. The determination and wisdom involved is definitely something we can remember.
Start-Up Spirit
The main thing I learnt from the companies we visited is not something specific, but a spirit. It is mind blowing to see people actually work and live with such a different mindset. There are people who thinks Paypal is going to fall soon and wants to join a startup. There are people who have already quit a top 10 rising startup to join a new startup with only 3 to 5 people. The people in the valley are not afraid of failure and risk, new ideas and failures are highly appreciated. Jeff, one of our hosts from Innov8, actually explains the reason behind this, “people in the valley think of ways to bring you up when you are in trouble, but people from other places think of ways to pull you down. Everyone in the valley is trying to give back to the community.” There is no doubt that all the young people dare to try any new ideas and this provides more chances of success and lead to the overall success of the valley.
Working Culture
Another different mindset they have is judging by result, not the appearance of working. Most companies have no fix working hours, you propose the work that you are going to finish this week and you schedule your own working time. This makes me think why most companies follow a strict working hours at the first place, isn’t the quantity and quality of the work done more important to the company rather than the appearance of working?
Personally, the atmosphere here really makes you want to start up your own companies. In the valley, you feel everything is possible and you can be the next one that change the whole world.
Structures and monuments in San Francisco all have its fair share of history to tell. We got a tour round the Civic Center learning about the how the structure withstood the numerous earthquakes and fires that surely will bring any other structures to the ground. The classical architecture of these structures was indeed something that one should stop and admire. We went past blocks of Victorian Houses which were decorated in designs brought from all over the world before arriving at the Painted Ladies which gave us a glimpse of San Francisco's skyline.
Mouthwatering Scenery
Want to view the whole of San Francisco? Twin Peaks is one of the highest points in SF which offers a 360 degrees of panoramic view of the city and the bay. Other than the beautiful scenery it offers, be prepared to enjoy the chilly winds or just the company of your loved ones. Next up, the icon of SF. The Golden Gate Bridge offers yet another photo-taking spree as we started snapping as soon as we alight. You will be fascinated about its history, especially when you learn how much it contributed to SF's suicidal rates and how the bridge ridiculously bent.
For seafood lovers, Fisherman's Wharf Pier is one stop you MUST surely visit. Boosting a variety of international cuisines, it is surely one of the best dining places in San Francisco. Indulge in fresh Dungeness crabs, steaming hot Clam Chowder and tasty Calamari which are served along the outdoor stands of the Wharf. If you still cannot decide the one seafood to try, I recommend getting Seafood Cocktails which are a hit among tourists. A group of us finally treated ourselves to some smooth Hot Chocolate at Ghirardelli Chocolate Manufactory which is situated a few streets away from the bay.
Since young, I have always been watching American shows but could never get the concepts behind them. It is probably due to the lack of relation between Singapore and San Francisco. However, it really opened my eyes of how San Francisco looks, and more importantly, feels like. Being at the top of Twin Peaks, the feeling was awesome as we had unobstructed view of about a third of San Francisco. Blessed with good weather, we had a phenomenal outlook of the beautiful city. At that moment, one will feel that everything else is so small and insignificant. Subsequently, a trip down to the Golden Gate Bridge was one of the most exciting part of the journey that I was looking forward to. There was only one word to describe the Golden Gate Bridge: Breathtaking. When I look at the bridge, the entire concept of building it seems impossible even by today's standards. It took strong determination and guts in order for such a massive project to succeed. It was really an awesome feat. One interesting fact that we learned is that the painters will have to start over from the beginning of the bridge once they are done with painting the entire bridge. This truly demonstrated the importance of determination when we are doing anything, and not to let critics bring us down even though everything seems impossible. Fisherman's Wharf is the true definition of a port. The number of seagulls, occasional blasting of ship horns, fisherman boats, smell of fresh seawater and the cool sea breeze all made up the picturesque port. Combined with a few street musicians singing a few tunes, it was truly 'American'. This short but meaningful tour really opened my eyes to San Francisco.
