An Entrepreneurial Exploration of Silicon Valley
Students traveled to Silicon Valley over spring break to explore entrepreneurship.
Silicon Valley is a place bursting with innovation and entrepreneurship. Every spring, NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship takes a group of students to experience this bustling hub of innovation.
This year, students visited 10 different businesses, many of which were hosted by NC State alumni—some of whom went on this same trip as students years ago! On top of exploring entrepreneurship, students also have a chance to visit some of the famous landmarks.
The Itinerary
After the flight to California, students hopped off the bus to enjoy a meal and explore San Francisco. In the evening, the group took a boat tour of the San Francisco Bay to see the Golden Gate Bridge, PIER 39 and more of the historic waterfront.
The second day started at Citrine Informatics, a business focused on AI for product development, production and sales that was co-founded by former trip participant and NC State alumnus, Greg Mulholland (Class of ‘07, Engineering). The next stop was at Anode, a company pioneering energy capture and distribution technologies to accelerate electrification, with alumnus Hampton Clark (Class of ‘21, Engineering). The group had lunch with Clark to further their discussions of innovation and entrepreneurship. To close out the day, the group visit the original HP Garage and AMD SC.
Day three started at Navan, a software company that makes travel expense management easier, with Oliver Stalhmann, a College of Engineering alumnus and a previous Silicon Valley Trip attendee. Later, the group went to the HP Customer Welcome Center. After lunch, the next stop was at Obvious Ventures, a venture capital and private equity firm, with alumnus Anku Madan (Class of ‘14, Engineering), who also attended this trip in 2014.
The fourth day started at Verkada, a security technology company. In the afternoon, the group joined the co-founder of Workshape and alumnus, Brett Hautop (Class of ‘03, Design), for lunch and an office space design simulation. In the evening, the students visited Afero with NC State alumnus Joe Britt and Scott Bartlett.
On the last day, students hopped on a flight and headed back to Raleigh after a week of full of adventure.
The Big Takeaways
Many of the students’ favorite parts of this trip were meeting the founders. It provided students with a unique opportunity to learn about startup culture and an entrepreneurial mindset. They commented on how approachable these founders were. Chloé Lozac’h, a junior studying finance and working towards a dual international business degree, said, “It made me realize that success doesn’t create distance—it creates the opportunity to inspire others. That shift in mindset was incredibly powerful.”
Cristina Maldonado, a graduate student working on a masters in business administration, had many great takeaways. Some of which included: build the right team; intrapreneurship is powerful; see through others’ eyes; be adaptable; play the long game; fail forward; network early and often; and there is no one right path.
Students learned about the lifestyle and motivation of founders too. Indio Skinner, a sophomore studying business administration, said, “Starting a startup is anything but easy, and if you don’t love what you do it can be a draining task. I also realized how important surrounding yourself with people smarter than you and people that get you excited to come to work is.”
Why should students apply for this trip?
This trip offers students the opportunity to travel and learn from entrepreneurs in the real world. Students are able to see cool sights, network, and explore entrepreneurship. In addition, expanding their personal network, students also get to travel with other like-minded entrepreneurial thinkers—some of which have resulted in long-term friendships! The trip is heavily subsidized through donors, with student costs kept to a minimum, which covers their hotel, meals and flights.
Here is why our students recommend this trip to others:
- “I highly recommend this trip—it’s a one-of-a-kind experience where you get to hear from founders back-to-back, connect with students who share your passion for innovation and entrepreneurship, and explore the vibrant city of San Francisco.” — Cristina Maldonado
- “My favorite part of the trip was getting to talk to the owner of Citrine as well as the visit to Workshape where we got to do an interactive activity. Both of these visits opened my eyes to the world of startups as well as startup culture and mindset.” — Indio Skinner
- “Innovation and Entrepreneurship trips like this one expose you to a world of possibilities you didn’t even know existed. You’re not just hearing about startups or reading case studies—you’re in the room with founders, CEOs, investors. You get to ask questions, make connections and see how innovation happens in real time.
- If you’re serious about entrepreneurship, curious about the startup world or just want to expand your vision of what your future can look like—these trips are a must. You’ll grow professionally, personally and walk away with a network that can truly change your career.” — Chloé Lozac’h
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