Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley: Individual Scrapbook Project

Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley:
Individual Scrapbook Project
Individual Scrapbook Project
For this project of the Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley class, students will work individually to
create a scrapbook detailing their findings through interactions with professionals in Silicon Valley
(entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, business executives, etc.)
The purpose of this assignment is for you to interact with the San Francisco Bay Area ecosystem
in particular for you to develop and practice your networking skills. Through this assignment is for
you to get out of your comfort zone and experience Silicon Valley. Moreover, one of the secrets
of success in Silicon Valley is understanding the power of serendipity. There is a direct
correlation between high levels of interaction in the Silicon Valley innovation ecosystem and
success.
Some of the information you collect in your interactions with professionals in Silicon Valley will
relate to your unicorn company that you present on in class #5, making the Scrapbook and
Unicorn Pitch assignments related even though the two will be graded separately.
Project Definition
Students will create a scrapbook (a professional diary) over the course of the six-week class that
will provide insights into their efforts outside of class to meet professionals in the Silicon Valley
ecosystem. A typical scrapbook entry might include a write-up about a meeting with an
entrepreneur at a tech conference which details all facets of the interaction (not just description)

as well as next steps in following-up or learning about the entrepreneur’s industry. Importantly,
the entries must be reflective and express what the student believes he/she learned, applying
lessons from the course where possible.
Students might find inspiration for scrapbook entries through attending networking events or
trade shows, visiting companies, and following-up with random encounters in the Bay Area.
Ideally, the scrapbook should be thematic and tailored to the interests of the students. For
example, if the student is interested in cybersecurity, a good scrapbook would contain a majority
of entries fitting this theme. In general, quality is more important than quantity, though it would
work to your benefit to be as active as possible in networking and attending events in Silicon
Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The scrapbook will be graded according two guiding criteria: Content (60%) and Aesthetics (40%).
Grading components include:
! Clarity: The narrative of each entry should be easy to follow and understand.
! Value Added Content: Entries contain insights about the class as well as what the student
learned from each meeting.
! Conclusions and Follow-up: Entry contains takeaways and further next steps for the
contact.
! Minimum Entries: Scrapbook must include a minimum of 5 entries with a minimum of a
half a page per event/meeting, not including business cards images, photos, videos, etc.
! Narrative: Scrapbook should show a narrative detailing the interests of the student and
should be targeted preferable toward a goal/theme (i.e. renewable energy, shared
economy, etc.)
! Entries should be organized in a clear and easy-to-follow manner, easy to read and
appealing to look at.
! Where necessary, business cards or copies of contact information should be provided. You
can enhance the contact information with the LinkedIn link of the professional (you may
as well take advantage and connect with the individual).
! If scanned images of entries are included, they must be readable and neat
Deliverables:
! The scrapbook of a previous student will be shared as a reference for current
students

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