1/2 Way There

Today was a very busy, long day, but lots of fun of course!

Deanna and Jake bond at Google

The day started at Google.  Sadly our tour guide cancelled at short notice and we were never able to connect with our backup, but no worries, we had a nice visit.  After a failed attempt in the lobby to find someone who would take us around, the students quickly spread like a web throughout the campus.  As most grabbed a colorful Google bike (plentiful on campus and throughout town) only to quickly find out by the numerous security guards that you had to be an employee to use them.

A sea of Google bikes

Matt takes a spin ... hiding from security

Still being followed by every security guard in the Googleplex, we were instructed that maybe we might want to head to the "Android Sculpture Garden" which IS a public area. Doing as we were told, we found the "garden" and a near-by lot full of self driving Google vehicles, of which they were testing.

Kaitlyn takes a ride around the Googleplex

After another short visit to the museum and a little lunch, we headed back to Palo Alto to visit Boxfish, a start-up that captures and indexes television data.  They actually capture everything on tv, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, among a few. They then index it and push topics of interest, assisting companies in the marketing process.

Eoin explains data capture at Boxfish

Eoin Dowling and Kevin Burkitt explained how they transplanted themselves here a few years ago from Ireland They started from scratch working out of a small apartment in downtown Palo Alto, like so many newcomers do. They now have Global office and are on their way to success.

Our next appointment was a couple hours away, giving our group some choices for "downtime". Some went back to continue their tour of Stanford, James stayed downtown to explore Palo Alto, and some went back to the hotel to re-group. I headed to the Stanford bookstore to take advantage of some discount shopping.

At 4:30 we met with Criteo, where we met up with one of our alums.

Dimetry explains Criteo

Criteo is a data collection company as well.  They monitor web search trend and shopping trends online, also indexing the information for their clients in order to target their customers. The VP of R &D, Dimetry Povlov, explained his experiences since arriving from Russia to the Valley.  His big piece of advice to the students is the importance of collaboration and teamwork with all companies in the valley.

The evening ended a with dinner at Trellis. Curry alumni in the area joined us, engaging the students in conversation about their experiences and giving them advice if they plan to test the waters in the Silicon Valley area.  It was a wonderful opportunity for both the students and alums to bond and share stories about Curry as well.

Dinner with students and alumni at Trellis

Amber Rice tells her Curry stories

Shawn Edge prepares the students for their visit to Target on Friday

Of course, the night wasn't over until the students ate one more time .... a quick stop at Happy Donuts ...a 24 hours spot with "the best donuts in the world" according to the students!