‘A trip of a lifetime’

YES!Delft is regarded as one of most successful business incubators in western Europe, providing an excellent environment in which new start-up companies receive effective business coaching, active support and access to a vast network. This time around though, Yes!Delft is offering 12 TU Delft students the chance to go to the land of entrepreneurship, Silicon Valley, in the Golden State of California.

Silicon Valley is home to many of the biggest and best high-tech companies, like Apple Inc, Google and Sony.

Over the years, Silicon Valley has created the perfect balance between clever high-tech grads and wealthy investors: the result is a thriving microcosm of innovation and business success.

Guenevere Prawiroatmodjo, the Silicon Valley trip coordinator for YES!Delft’s Awareness Team, says the aim of this trip is threefold: “To inspire TU Delft students by exposing them to business success stories, to help teach students the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, and to encourage students to take the initiative by stimulating their entrepreneurial spirits.”

The seven-day trip will expose students to a range of different aspects of business start-ups and will include inspirational lectures by successful entrepreneurs, company visits with access to their facilities and top managers, a visit to Stanford University, multiple networking opportunities, and of course some local sightseeing.

Students selected for the trip will also be involved in organizing the trip, as each will have the chance to arrange an activity of their own.

Earning a spot on this trip is no walk in the park, however. The rigorous selection process is based on a number of actions: to get past the first round, students must first submit a motivation essay explaining why they should be chosen to go to Silicon Valley. In round two, the most promising candidates will then be given 60 seconds to present their elevator pitch to a jury. This 60 second grilling session is the most decisive, as it gives candidates the chance to differentiate themselves from the competition. This pitch presentation also serves as a test for judging the candidates ability to get his/her point across to others under pressure – an important aspect of being an entrepreneur.

YES!Delft is no newcomer to organizing such trips. Last year, 12 TU Delft students visited the MIT Entrepreneurship Center in Boston. Hicham Shatou, 27, now in the final year of his MSc degree in Civil Engineering, earned a spot on the MIT trip last year: “It was a trip of a lifetime, a very rich experience. We heard many success stories that made you want to start a company and become successful, and meeting all those clever and wealthy people made you feel like a million dollars.”

It was also an intensive week of learning, Shatou recalls. The participants learned important lessons about entrepreneurship and also built networks through meeting other successful entrepreneurs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a year later and Shatou is now involved in a startup company and credits much of his knowledge to what he experienced at MIT.

Prawiroatmodjo: “Students who have fundamental interest in entrepreneurship will get the most out of this trip, as our aim is to inspire and stimulate them to just go for it!”

The competition to join the Silicon Valley trip is now open and the April 21 deadline approaching fast. For more info about the trip go to: www.yesdelft.nl/siliconvalley. Apply now!

YES!Delft is regarded as one of most successful business incubators in western Europe, providing an excellent environment in which new start-up companies receive effective business coaching, active support and access to a vast network. This time around though, Yes!Delft is offering 12 TU Delft students the chance to go to the land of entrepreneurship, Silicon Valley, in the Golden State of California.

Silicon Valley is home to many of the biggest and best high-tech companies, like Apple Inc, Google and Sony.

Over the years, Silicon Valley has created the perfect balance between clever high-tech grads and wealthy investors: the result is a thriving microcosm of innovation and business success.

Guenevere Prawiroatmodjo, the Silicon Valley trip coordinator for YES!Delft’s Awareness Team, says the aim of this trip is threefold: “To inspire TU Delft students by exposing them to business success stories, to help teach students the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, and to encourage students to take the initiative by stimulating their entrepreneurial spirits.”

The seven-day trip will expose students to a range of different aspects of business start-ups and will include inspirational lectures by successful entrepreneurs, company visits with access to their facilities and top managers, a visit to Stanford University, multiple networking opportunities, and of course some local sightseeing.

Students selected for the trip will also be involved in organizing the trip, as each will have the chance to arrange an activity of their own.

Earning a spot on this trip is no walk in the park, however. The rigorous selection process is based on a number of actions: to get past the first round, students must first submit a motivation essay explaining why they should be chosen to go to Silicon Valley. In round two, the most promising candidates will then be given 60 seconds to present their elevator pitch to a jury. This 60 second grilling session is the most decisive, as it gives candidates the chance to differentiate themselves from the competition. This pitch presentation also serves as a test for judging the candidates ability to get his/her point across to others under pressure – an important aspect of being an entrepreneur.

YES!Delft is no newcomer to organizing such trips. Last year, 12 TU Delft students visited the MIT Entrepreneurship Center in Boston. Hicham Shatou, 27, now in the final year of his MSc degree in Civil Engineering, earned a spot on the MIT trip last year: “It was a trip of a lifetime, a very rich experience. We heard many success stories that made you want to start a company and become successful, and meeting all those clever and wealthy people made you feel like a million dollars.”

It was also an intensive week of learning, Shatou recalls. The participants learned important lessons about entrepreneurship and also built networks through meeting other successful entrepreneurs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a year later and Shatou is now involved in a startup company and credits much of his knowledge to what he experienced at MIT.

Prawiroatmodjo: “Students who have fundamental interest in entrepreneurship will get the most out of this trip, as our aim is to inspire and stimulate them to just go for it!”

The competition to join the Silicon Valley trip is now open and the April 21 deadline approaching fast. For more info about the trip go to: www.yesdelft.nl/siliconvalley. Apply now!