Last week we came back from a two week trip to silicon valley. The main reason was to look around for Investment and US Market opportunities for our SaaS product www.mycosuite.com that we have started in 2010.
We have joined a lot of panel discussions about IT, Emerging markets and VC and Angels. We have also met a lot of interesting people. The most interesting thing about Silicon valley is that there are many IT entrepreneurs and a whole ecosystem around it. Idea’s grow there and are taken to the next level. The stimulating environment helps entrepreneurs to get great feedback and build on that to ultimately create great products.
The VC’s and Angels are also interesting groups. Many people warn for VC’s since they will take over your business, steal your idea’s etc. On the other hand they can also give you the flying start that you need in terms of financing and network that they bring in. A good VC will not abuse its position to steal ideas. The moment it becomes public that they take over your idea, it will hurt their business a lot. There is always a balance that has to be found to establish a healthy relation with those companies. Of course you need to focus on the end goal.. they are looking for an exit. Many entrepreneurs we talked to are clearly focused on selling their business to Google, Facebook, Microsoft as an exit and do anything to get noticed by those companies.
Next to our meetings with Entrepreneurs and VC/angels we have also checked the Dutch community in San Francisco. We were lucky to see the first celebration of Queensday on Union Square.
All in all a very good trip. We learned a lot and are now working on the opportunities that came from these 2 weeks. There is a big chance I will go back in the coming month to continue with our U.S focus.
