The Entrepreneurial Connection

A very informative book that I had bough a couple of years ago. The Indian born entreprenuers featured in the interviews are not limited to but include Sabeer Bhatia, Deepak Chopra, Vinod Khosla, Narayan Murthy, Azim Premji, Suhas Patil, Arun Netravali. Impressive interviews that give insight into the lives of these individuals, their opinions on setting up companies, strategies, efforts involved etc. Nice stories that will prove inspirational if you are looking forward to starting a new venture or are already in one. I shall give a gist each entreprenuer here:
(Remember that this book was published in 2001)

1) AnnaLee Saxenian (University of California-Berkeley):
Her research indicates that 29% of the technology companies created in the valley since 1980 are run by Indian and Chinese entreprenuers. She describes the culture in Silicon Valley that fostered entreprenuership and attributes it to

• An open environment.
• Dense, cross-cutting social networks that grow out of a high rate of mobility
• Failure not being a stigma

She compares Silicon Valley with Route 128 in Boston by saying that the skills and technologies in the region were trapped witihin the boundaries of a small number of very big companies, while in Silicon Valley they were being continually reconbined. The Boston area fell into crisis in1990, but learned from mistakes and now looks more and more like Silicon Valley.
Immigrants feel comfortable in the valley and best and the brightest from India and China took risks, left their homes and came to the US and then Silicon Valley, to either succeed in a large company or fac a glass ceiling ... resulting in them simply leaving and starting their own company.
She notes that most entreprenuers are from India and China because of the desire for knowledge and the desire for economic success.
In Silicon Valley you learn how to network, how to find venture capital, how to start a company, learn what the support infrastructure looks like, how to deal with venture capitalists, lawyers, all the things that make it easy to start a company and succeed.
Notes that Stanford itself palyed a key role in developing this culture and agrees that education is a common link between India, China and Taiwan.
Says that universities and companies working together is a recipie to success and that entreprenuers in the valley do not retire but become angels and venture capitalists in their old age, sharing knowledge, experience and networking skills.
To create the "Silicon Valley Phenomenon" in India:

• Create a more open environment
• Create a context where people come together repeatedly and start to build relationships with one another and start solving problems

People elsewhere should recognize that a science park is just a real estate deal and has little to do with innovation or entreprenuership. They fail to rocognize that the relationships and social networks are essential to Silicon Valley's continued dynamism.
Does not expect to see a demise of the Silicon Valley in the next decade.

2) Arun Netravali (Bell Laboratories):
... To be continued