After meeting with Forrest we headed to Plug and Play Tech Center where we met up with Dom who was actually the first guy we met on Monday at TCDisrupt. Plug&Play wasn’t that nice of a space but their depiction as “Silicon Valley in a box” was very interesting. Basically the same building housed over 200 startups, tens of Angels and VCs, coaches and mentors. Finnpro and Finnode had booths there but they were empty. Collaboration here could be useful for some of our startups.

Highlight of the day

At Disrupt we met Hermione Way, a cool British girl, who does video coverage for The Next Web. We wanted to do a piece on Startup Sauna with her so she told us we need to have an interesting setting for the interview, sort of like you would on a date. Consequently, we agreed to do the interview in a sauna. This was certainly the most bizarre interview any of us had done, but we felt it was a great idea and it was very interesting. We discussed important points and hopefully it will turn out great. So stay tuned. In addition we were able to provide the sauna experience to the next web crew and we’re certain it left a lasting mark. (Thanks to everyone who helped us make this happen and thanks Hermione!)

In the evening we headed out to Santa Cruz where the videographer we worked with today lived and had a nice seafood dinner. Also saw some seals at the wharf!

Lessons of the day

Being different is really important in what we do. It’s a core reason behind the success of Aaltoes and Startup Sauna and should be so in the future as well. It is why we got the interview and it’s why our Startup Sauna t-shirts attracted so much attention at the Disrupt conference.

Being open-minded and receptive to ideas and people leads to serendipitous connections and opportunities – another key lesson that today’s events epitomise.

Doing is learning. Even though we weren’t on sure footing today in the sauna, taking charge and going for it taught us way more than not doing it.

Tomorrow is our last day here and the schedule will be tight. Now a couple of beers and then bed.

Looking forward to another Super8 brekkie,

J, N, R & J

We met up with Rebecca from the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP). She was hired recently to take care of STVP’s external partnerships and told us of the future ambitions of the program, Stanford and Aalto cooperation. An interesting point she made is that Stanford is very intent on learning from everything that’s going on with Aalto, as they would like to see students engage in the same way. Stanford wants to cultivate its partnerships to be more than just business relationships and Rebecca is truly great with people.

One of the STVP’s programs is called “Mayfield Fellows”. It starts with classes in the spring, continues with internships in startups over the summer and concludes in the fall when students teach case studies to each other based on what they’ve learned during the summer. This idea made us instantly think that Startup Life could have an important role in the new Aalto entrepreneurship curriculum.

One of today’s highlights was definitely the d.school, Institute of Design at Stanford. The variety of spaces, people from multiple disciplines, the cross-pollination of ideas, a true sense of openness and ambitious projects create a unique vibe with a “change-the-world” mentality. The enthusiasm and joy that exuded from open-minded people creating with an aim to have an impact was purely inspiring.

In the evening we met up with Nruthya from Bases (Business Association for Stanford’s Entrepreneurial Students). She was awesome. They have a great energy going and collaboration with them looks promising. She also provided us with some insight into the student world at Stanford.

Today’s valuable insights

Today was truly an enriching experience for many reasons. Firstly, it was amazing to see what one of the world’s top universities looks and feels like. Secondly, it really broadened visions of what education can be. Particularly the integration of design thinking into education across disciplines, left a lasting mark. The ME310 course is taking a breather at Aalto this year, which feels incomprehensible based on what we saw today. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, today’s visit gave us invaluable insight into what Aalto is striving for, what Aalto can become and, to some extent, what we need to do in order to get there. It made us think, more than ever, about what we really want to get out of our education and what we can do to make great things happen for ourselves and our community.

Big day tomorrow, spirits high, feeling motivated,

J, N, R & J

Another great entrepreneurial resource from the grand universities of US comes from MIT. The MIT $100 challenge is the premier university-run entrepreneurship competition in the world. The year-long competition provides a lot of material for entrepreneurs in Finland: be sure to check out the MIT 2009 pitches