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The Secret History of Silicon Valley (next Thurs, Nov 20)

Talk coming up next week
Steve Blank, a professor at Stanford and serial entrepreneur of 8 startup companies, is giving a revised version of his talk, The Secret History of Silicon Valley. The YouTube video of the talk is embedded above, and an additional 1/3 of new material will be added. There’s also a lot more material in Stanford’s Entrepreneurship Corner, which I’d encourage you to check out aswell.

Also, if you haven’t read Steve’s book, The Four Steps to the Epiphany, I’d encourage you to do so. There’s a lot of great stuff in there that is more or less the product development methodology that I follow.

Anyway, here are some additional details on the event – see you there!

DATE & TIME
Thursday, November 20, 2008

12 p.m. – Bring your lunch and enjoy a lecture with CHM friends and family. Beverages will be provided.

LOCATION
1401 N. Shoreline Boulevard
Mountain View, CA 94043
Directions

REGISTRATION
Register Now

ABSTRACT OF TALK
While Silicon Valley is responsible for the wealth of millions of people, not many are familiar with its long and complex history. Unbeknownst to even the most seasoned inhabitant or observer, Silicon Valley, Northern California’s peninsula, was shaped by many forces.

Join renowned serial entrepreneur, Steve Blank, as he provides an overview on the secret history of Silicon Valley and how the Valley got its start. Much like the startups that have made Silicon Valley famous, the Valley began in a strikingly similar formula.

Hear the story of how two major events – WWII and the Cold War – and one Stanford professor set the stage for the creation and explosive growth of entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley. In true startup form, the world was forever changed when the CIA and the National Security Agency acted as venture capitalists for this first wave of entrepreneurship. Learn about the key players and the series of events that contributed to this dramatic and important piece of the emergence of this world renowned technology mecca.

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