{ "version": "https:\/\/jsonfeed.org\/version\/1.1", "title": "Artöm Mazurchak: posts tagged siliconvalley", "_rss_description": "Product notes by Artem Mazurchak: JTBD interviews, customer segmentation, strategy sessions and AI. Founder of Biz-cen.ru and Lashoestring.com, writing from Berlin.", "_rss_language": "en", "_itunes_email": "", "_itunes_categories_xml": "", "_itunes_image": "", "_itunes_explicit": "", "home_page_url": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/?go=tags\/siliconvalley\/", "feed_url": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/?go=tags%2Fsiliconvalley%2Fjson%2F", "icon": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/userpic\/userpic@2x.jpg?1700581632", "authors": [ { "name": "Artöm Mazurchak", "url": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/", "avatar": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/userpic\/userpic@2x.jpg?1700581632" } ], "items": [ { "id": "90", "url": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/?go=all\/the-us-module-ny-san-francisco-berkeley-stanford-nasa\/", "title": "The US Module: NY, San Francisco, Berkeley, Stanford, NASA", "content_html": "

The official name of the module is “Understanding Entrepreneurship and Innovation.” For me, it’s not about the academic content but about the experience. This is my first time in the US. Before the program started, I spent a few days in New York → then flew to San Francisco → the main program took place in Berkeley → we visited Facebook and Bagaveev, plus the Computer History Museum → then Stanford → and finally 42 Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n

New York<\/h2>\n

NY felt like a giant, overgrown Ford factory – industrial, functional, loud and hot. I definitely had unrealistic expectations about the city. The marketing worked, but the reality turned out to be way more down-to-earth.<\/p>\n

The best way to sum up my impression of the city is with this moment: one day, I headed over to the skyscrapers in Manhattan, planning to live out my own little Suits scene, grabbing a hot dog from one of the many street carts around the area. That hot dog tasted like it was made out of paper. Pretty sure I could still read the Financial Times headline printed on the sausage. Later, I found out that only the wide shots for the show were actually filmed in New York, the rest was shot in Toronto. Way cheaper.<\/p>\n

The subway in NY is terrible: tasteless, dirty and in hot weather it turns into a steam room, though the train cars have AC. There’s a reason for that:<\/p>\n

On the subway doors, they don’t just say “do not lean” but also “don’t hold the doors.” Some train cars are fully taken over by a single advertiser. Like, the whole car might be decked out in ads for a cleaning service.<\/p>\n

A few things I noticed:
\n— The Museum of Modern Art was a surprise: when you check your stuff, you scan your ticket and enter your phone number. When you’re picking it up, you just enter your number again and your item rolls out to you automatically from deep inside the coat check. Then a staff member hands it to you.
\n— You can actually spot eagles in Central Park. Also, joggers stick to the paved paths, even though there are great sandy trails just a few steps away.
\n— Head out toward New Jersey and it feels like Russia – piles of old machinery, fields and rows of construction trailers.
\n— Fifth Avenue is made of big concrete slabs that don’t quite line up evenly.<\/p>\n

Highly recommend:
\nOne.<\/b> Elizabeth Street Garden<\/a> in Lower Manhattan that’s full of statues. You can grab something to-go from one of the nearby restaurants and sit on one of the folding chairs scattered around. This spot was much closer to what I imagined New York would be like. It has that historic, storybook feel like something out of The Goldfinch.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n

Two.<\/b> The immersive theater experience Sleeping no More<\/a> – there’s no linear plot, you’re free to wander through the dimly lit, multi-level set at your own pace. Actors appear out of nowhere and small crowds gather around as scenes unfold: dancing, childbirth, nude bathing, someone burying objects in sand. You can help an actor pack a box or just stand back and watch it all happen. That day I’d already walked 35 kilometers around the city and was exhausted. So when the action in one of the rooms started repeating, I genuinely wondered for a second if I was dreaming.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\"\"\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n
Subway street art<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

New York ✈ San Francisco<\/h2>\n

Here comes a story that’s really important to me about responsibility and setting goals.<\/p>\n

My flight was at 7:00 PM on Saturday. When I got to the airport, I found out it was canceled because of the weather. The help desk line was barely moving as lots of flights had been canceled. I called the airline and found out there were no direct flights to SF left, but I could get there through LA. I said “okay,” rebooked for a 10:30 PM flight, checked my bag and went through security.<\/p>\n

At 10:15 PM they announced that the flight to LA was canceled too. I call support again and find out my only chance to fly out that night is to get on the standby list for a midnight flight. Standby means you’re basically hoping someone who bought a ticket doesn’t show up and if there’s a free seat, you might get it. I head to the gate and see I’m number 31 on the list. Oooookay. The girl #8 tries to bend the rules and cut ahead, her sister’s getting married the next morning. The system doesn’t care. In the end, one Asian guy gets on the flight. The crowd silently wishes him luck. And that’s it. No flights after midnight, that’s the rule. A line about 200 meters long forms at the help desk. I grab a coffee.<\/p>\n

The support says the next available flight to SF is Tuesday evening, three days from now. To find out where my bag is, I have to talk to someone at the info desk. I remember there’s one near the airport entrance, so I head over. The line is about 50 meters long and barely moving. At 3 AM I finally found my bag’s already in SF. And there are no even layover tickets left. They say I can try standby. Flights to SF start leaving every hour from 6 AM. But there are already 52 people for the 6 AM flight on the standby list. I’d be number 3 for 7 AM. I put my name down for that one.<\/p>\n

I showed up for the 7 AM standby flight, now I’m fifth on the list. Turns out the airline also overbooked the flight, selling more tickets than there were seats. Everyone who was on the 6 AM standby list and didn’t get on the plane gets automatically added behind me, now there are around 60 people in line. I don’t get on the 7 AM flight. At this point, there’s not much sense in trying more standby flights. Hmm.<\/p>\n

I start calling the support every 10 minutes, just hoping someone cancels their ticket. On one of those calls the agent says a seat just opened up on a *direct<\/b> flight to SF at 9 AM. Cheers – Off to SF!<\/p>\n

\n\"\"\n
The precious ticket<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Conclusion:<\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Take responsibility → feel calm.
    \nI was alone in a city I didn’t know. Whether I got to SF or not was completely on me and somehow that felt calming. There were tons of things I couldn’t control, but I could focus on what I could do. No guarantees, just staying present and doing my part.<\/li>\n
  2. When you know exactly what you want → you get it with minimal effort.
    \nI had one clear goal: get from NY to SF as soon as possible. I didn’t waste time wondering, “Should I go to LA instead? Maybe I should just stay in NY and see Jack White concert? What if I rented a car and drove to SF?” No, I knew the goal. And from that calm place, I just kept trying one solution after another. That way I wasn’t wasting energy on pointless thoughts. It was easy to see if what I was doing was actually getting me closer to the goal or not.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    San Francisco<\/h2>\n

    The group met at Hack Temple, Pavel Cherkashin’s space – a restored Catholic church used for tech events. I was late and missed Pavel’s talk and the presentations from his accelerator, the projects were crypto-related. By the time I arrived, everyone had already been split into teams of eight and given routes with marked spots on the map across San Francisco, where “stashes” with money were hidden, a game format to explore the city.<\/p>\n

    \n\"\"\n
    The interior of Hack Temple<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    San Francisco is a vibe. Hilly streets, lots of small two\/three-story houses, tons of homeless people, graffiti-covered walls, grassy spots where you can just lie down, addicts getting high right on the sidewalks, sudden fog rolling in, wind so strong it nearly knocks you over, wooden piers, packed restaurants with old-school waiters. It’s messy, diverse and interesting.<\/p>\n

    That evening we moved to Berkeley, the five of us had rented a house there. Definitely the right call. Our late-night conversations on the cozy back terrace turned out to be one of the most meaningful parts of the whole trip.<\/p>\n

    Berkeley<\/h2>\n

    The “Understanding Entrepreneurship and Innovation” course was taught by Jerome S Engel<\/a> – a longtime professor at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. He graduated from Wharton, worked at E&Y, became a VC, then started getting invited to join boards. Eventually, he ended up teaching. Here are a few things from the course that stood out:<\/p>\n

    — The US pension system holds around $200 billion and a third is in bonds that yield just 2–3%. But to support an aging population, they need at least 8% growth. That’s why a lot of “pension money” flows into the Silicon Valley ecosystem.<\/p>\n

    — The professor asked if there were any entrepreneurs in the room. When a few people raised their hands, he told them, “No, you’re not.” Real entrepreneurs are out there building something, not sitting in a classroom.<\/p>\n

    — Silicon Valley is an innovation cluster because it brings together all the key ingredients: entrepreneurs, VCs, big corporations and universities.<\/p>\n

    \n\"\"\n
    Startups are always looking for ideas that can scale exponentially.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    — Entrepreneurship in the Valley means chasing opportunities regardless of how much resources they have.<\/p>\n

    — The difference between managers and entrepreneurs: managers are ready to act when they have the resources, entrepreneurs are ready to act when they see an opportunity.<\/p>\n

    — Small innovations allow for steady progress and it’s a painless process. But real, disruptive innovation is painful. That’s why big companies often struggle with it.<\/p>\n

    \n\"\"\n
    Startups and big companies see the world through completely different lenses.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    — At the Seed stage investors don’t want to take 50%, because that would kill the founders’ motivation.<\/p>\n

    — 75% of VCs will say the team is the most important thing. Only about 1% will say it’s the market.<\/p>\n

    — When investing, they usually form a five-person board. The fifth seat goes to an “independent” member — someone proposed either by the founders or the investors (more often by the investors). This “independent” board member is expected to coach the company’s CEO.<\/p>\n

    — As soon as a founder or CEO raises their first round, their job is to start looking for the next one.<\/p>\n

    — When a huge investment comes in (over $50 million) the management team usually gets replaced. They need people who’ve worked with big money before.<\/p>\n

    — Preferred Stock gets converted to Common Stock before an IPO, so new investors can clearly understand the risks. Otherwise, early investors might have different rights in case the company is liquidated. The IPO is more likely to succeed if everything is transparent for new shareholders.<\/p>\n

    \n\"\"\n
    Startup stages and different funding rounds<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Berkeley is full of classic one-story American houses with walls about as thick as your finger. Pretty much everything in town revolves around the campus and the main hotspot is probably the university merch shops.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n
    The lecture hall, the campus and the surrounding area<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    NASA’s Ames Research Center<\/h2>\n

    For the next few days, we stayed in a closed NASA town. You could only get in with an official invite and it was patrolled day and night by its own police car. Besides us, only a few other rooms in the hotel buildings were taken. Bonus: tons of chipmunks, hares and turkeys the size of bulldogs. No clue how Skolkovo pulled this off. But being in that closed-off place brought the group even closer. We stayed up talking until sunrise.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n
    NASA campus<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Stanford<\/h2>\n

    At Stanford, we had a Design Thinking workshop, the method was actually developed right there. It was led by archaeology professor Michael Shanks, who’s part of Stanford’s Design Research center. The guy shouldn’t be allowed to teach, he’s way too good. He was so engaging and theatrical that I missed part of the actual material. I was completely caught up in his style.<\/p>\n

    The content of the course was similar to our marketing module<\/a>. The core idea behind the method is that when developing a product or service, you start with the user’s problem. You work through usage scenarios and dive deep into the user’s context.<\/p>\n

    During the workshop, we split into teams and worked on a product concept around “Future Mobility.” We clearly defined the customer’s pain point → brainstormed possible solutions → built a prototype → and pitched it to a panel.<\/p>\n

    There’s a calm, academic vibe that you can feel all across the campus.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n
    The lecture hall and the area around the university<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Bagaveev corporation, Facebook, Computer History Museum, 42 Silicon Valley<\/h2>\n

    One day, we visited Bagaveev corporation<\/a> and met with the CEO, Nadir Bagaveyev<\/a>. The company is working on building a rocket with an engine that’s 3D-printed. It’s a small team of five people, and they’ve been working on the project for four years now. They plan to present the final product in year six. Their rockets are designed to help launch small satellites into orbit. The hangar where all the development happens looks more like a giant garage.<\/p>\n

    In my naive view, I imagined Silicon Valley entrepreneurs as people who give up everything for their idea, working around the clock, burning themselves out in the process. But Nadir turned out to be a real, open person with healthy hobbies. In his free time, he built a car that drives on water (using hydroplaning principles<\/a> ) and even a prototype of a flying motorcycle.<\/p>\n

    \n\"\"\n
    A water-driving vehicle<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
    \n\"\"\n
    A flying motorcycle prototype<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
    \n
    \n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n
    A vial with microorganisms that could be sent to another planet<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Now their company is raising a new round of funding. I asked him why they don’t just double the investment and try to finish the project in five years instead of six. He said, “This is the pace I’m comfortable working at. If investors don’t like that speed, I can’t work with them.” Wise and confident.<\/p>\n

    Facebook is like a city within a city. You could probably live at the office, free food from all around the world, coffee, fitness classes, health insurance. The Computer History Museum is pretty boring. If you can skip it, don’t waste your time.<\/p>\n

    On the last day, we visited 42 Silicon Valley<\/a> – a private, nonprofit organization with a large campus offering programming courses, like 12-month programs. All classes and housing on campus are free if you pass the competitive admission process. Their teaching method is project-based and very peer-to-peer. At the campus, we met some Russian students working on a project called “growing bricks” – a special kind of mushroom that can be used as bricks once they mature.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n\"\"\n\"\"\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n
    The interior of 42 Silicon Valley<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Conclusion:<\/b> I’d give the module 9.5 out of 10. What’s awesome: After getting a taste of Stanford and Berkeley, I can say the professors at Skolkovo are top-notch. It’s not just marketing when they say the modular program lets them bring the best professors from other universities right to the Moscow campus. What could be better: The content’s value could be higher. For example, dedicating a whole day to a deep dive on the Term Sheet instead of just a few hours would be great. I’d also love to visit more companies in the Valley and talk to real entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

    For me, this module was a turning point in my whole education. I came back inspired and maybe now the separate pieces of my learning are starting to come together into a clear picture.<\/p>\n", "summary": "The official name of the module is “Understanding Entrepreneurship and Innovation.” For me, it’s not about the academic content but about the experience...", "date_published": "2018-09-23T17:07:12+02:00", "date_modified": "2026-02-14T14:16:29+02:00", "tags": [ "Berkley", "NASA", "siliconvalley", "skolkovo", "Stanford", "USA" ], "image": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/USA.jpg", "_date_published_rfc2822": "Sun, 23 Sep 2018 17:07:12 +0200", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "90", "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": [ "jquery\/jquery.js", "fotorama\/fotorama.css", "fotorama\/fotorama.js" ], "og_images": [ "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/USA.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7017.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_6902-(1)_1.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_6900-(2).JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/camphoto_1254324197.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7138-(1).JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/ohota.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/differincies.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/series.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7147.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/_DSC1585.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/_DSC1177.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/_DSC1157.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7232.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7176.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7175.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7174.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/camphoto_1903590565.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/_DSC1518.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7575.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7561.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7567.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7285.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7556.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7459.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7502.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7511.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7430.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7432.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7435.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7465.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7482.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7485.jpg", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7315.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7314.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7324.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7325.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7326.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7528.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7540.JPG", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_7534.JPG" ] } } ], "_e2_version": 4199, "_e2_ua_string": "Aegea 11.5 (v4199)" }