#qstpsvtrip2018

I am kind of not used to being photographed all the time. During the trip we had a photographer and a videographer with us (even in the bus and during meals). At the beginning I was kind of annoyed. 'OMG! the camera is every where, can't we have some privacy here'. By the end of the first day I got used to the camera, I even liked it. But what I didn't pay attention to is the the men behind the camera, Yahya and Khalid. I realised by the end of the trip that they added a unique value to our group, not just as photographers who documented these precious moments, but as two valuable members of the team who shared lessons with all of us.

Yahya is a young man who works at Google while preparing a masters in Computer Science (I tried hardly to keep my mouth closed when I heard him saying that). From just one conversation with him he taught me to always have aspirations. Ask yourself what is the next big step. If you have a job that you feel no longer challenges you, don't be afraid to move on. Even if that job is at a big company. Always keep learning

Khalid works at Apple on the Arabic version of Siri (another impressive profile). He taught me one very important lesson. Not to judge something without trying it and becoming good at it first. For example, let's assume you are a student who don't like Math. Always ask yourself, how did you come to that conclusion. Did you try your best at it then realise that you really don't like it? Or did you just assume that you can't succeed in it because it seems hard. Don't give up if something seems hard. Try it first.

On our third day, we visited the Stanford University campus where we managed to get a quick tour around the campus. We then moved on to attend an interesting session on innovation and sport. We were then luck enough to have a workshop with Belkassim Haba, who led a session on teamwork. During this session, we were asked to come up with a prototype of a solution that would help making the process of cutting palm trees for dates a lot easier. This simple task proved itself difficult especially considering the different backgrounds we had, which made it difficult for us to maintain common grounds. It was also difficult because none of us had much background on the process of harvesting dates. Nonetheless, the process was very interesting, especially when we were asked to rate our favorite idea and then work together as a team to improve it. It was very interesting to see the group dynamic as a whole, and to see how some people struggled with certain things that other excelled in. overall the session was interesting because it brought many realizations in terms of teamwork and the dynamics of preparing for a prototype. After that session, we had a panel discussion with some of Silicon Valley’s most brilliant minds, where they shared with us their Journey and life experience, and how they managed to reach where they are today. It was very inspiring to listen to these people and to see how humble and grounded they were even in the middle of their success. They were also kind enough to answer many of our questions and to give us tips and recommendations as students who are about to take on a similar journey. This was the highlight of the day as I learned a lot from their experiences and perspectives. I also really enjoyed their talk because I felt like I could relate to them and their struggles, as people who were born and raised in the region, some with more humble beginnings than others. But most importantly, I learned that the only thing different about these people were the vision they had for something bigger, and the perseverance that kept them on it instead of giving it up for the sake of comfort.  This was a very important lesson because it made me rethink the limitations we tend to put for ourselves when in reality, the possibilities are endless.

After coming back from Silicon Valley, and reflecting on the one week I spent there that was full of activities, I can summarise what I learned in few lessons. 

1- Entrepreneurship has many routes, it does not have to be a start-up.

That realisation is very important for me personally. My first experience in the world of entrepreneurship was an accelerator. After finishing the accelerator I realised that I don't really like it, and I came up with a generalisation that entrepreneurship is not for me. Few months later I discovered that entrepreneurship does not have to be in the form of a start-up. Even if it is in the form of a start-up, you don't have to be the founder. Entrepreneurship is more of a way of thinking and a mindset that you learn, not a title that you acquire.

2- Anyone can make it

During my time in Silicon Valley I met many people who came from a wide range of backgrounds, many from the Middle East and other parts of the world that is outside the states. By listening to their stories one realise the many difficulties they faced in the way. Yes, it is a long route that requires dedication, commitment, and hard work. But it is not impossible if you really want it (nothing is after all).

3- Seek Innovation, not Entrepreneurship.

Innovation is more of a general term than entrepreneurship. You don't have to have a start-up to be innovative. You can be innovative in the way you do a certain job, or by an initiative you do in your community.

The omission of expected or required action

Embarking on this life-changing experience of visiting Silicon Valley with the hope of fostering an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset. I came with a preconceived noting of visiting successful companies like Google, YouTube, Airbnb and learning from their endless stories of success! However, what really struck a chord with me were the personal stories shared by founders and individuals about their struggles and failures! Yes, I said failures.

Having been brought up in a society where many of us try are expected to score A’s, follow rules and perform at the best of our ability, especially as growing older we become more calculative of our actions to avoid any chances of failure. Many people and organizations have as their primary objective the avoidance of failure. On the contrary, one of the most valuable lessons I am taking back home is to enable myself to be experimental and embrace my failures and use them as a self-evaluating tool to improve. These examples though are not the norm because we as a society have a strong anti-failure bias

As Innovation and entrepreneurship was the “flavor” of this week’ and the innovators, CEO, founders shared their view on how to make it happen as a startup or an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur I now understand the importance, actually, let me say necessity of failure. Hearing from people who worked at many of the disrupting technology-based companies like Google, Airbnb etc. Most of these founders we met emphasized that Innovation is the result of iterative a learning processes, experimentation, critical inquiry, and acceptance to failure as a necessary part of the process. Failure is a vital part of the innovation process because from failure comes learning, iteration, adaptation, and the building of new conceptual and physical models through an iterative learning handle. Nearly all innovations and advancements are the result of earlier learning from failures.

The fundamental value of failure is a lesson that should not be lost by entrepreneurs and innovative mindsets. Failure can not only highlight the wrongs but also how to improve and make it right. It can be a the most valuable, even transformational force to better business practices. And should never be underestimated or shoved under the rug, because it is, at some point, inevitable.

I will leave you all with this quote from Bill Gates:

I failed my exams in some subjects but my friends passed. Now he’s an engineer in Microsoft and I am the owner.

This is the MOST innovative company I have ever seen in my life. OMG! Airbnb has everything from a common area that is decorated by a hanging cloud, to a theatre, a 'No-Talking' room, to spaces that are decorated as a replica of actual spaces offered on their website.

For those of you who haven't heard of Airbnb before, or not sure what kind of work they do. They are mostly known as a website that you can use to rent a room (or a even a whole house) in someone's house in any city you can think of. They have another cool feature called 'Experiences' where you can book tours or join parties. Overall, they are a Tech company in the tourism sector.

Personally I love using Airbnb because mainly for two reasons: 1-It is affordable (you can get a very nice room for a price much lower than an hotel)

2-You interact with locals, and you can't get the same experience if you stayed at any hotel.

During the tour inside the company we were greeted by Nemr Elsotary, who is a digital marketing leader in the company, and whom took us personally on a tour. I saw how every single corner in the company was unique in some sort. First, you get the dinning area where breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served. Then, there are many spaces that are very modernly decorated where people can freely work. And other rooms that are decorated like actual spaces rented through Airbnb and other decors from around the world like a Bedouin tent and the decor of an Egyptian restaurant called 'Zooba'. Other than the fact that I was smiling throughout the tour because I loved the place, I learned that innovation has no borders.

One thing that grabbed my attention the most is that 40-50% of their employees are women. That is a very high percentage that almost half of their employees are women. A statistics that made me feel proud, and that makes me feel that I want to join them one day. Hopefully!

The final two days of the trip were very eventful. The highlights for me were the Hikayat question and answer session with 6 of the most influencial arab innovators in Silicon Valley, and speaking with Ms. Kim from YouTube. The Hikayat session was by far my favorite experience during the entire trip. We were lucky enough to hear the opinions and stories of people who have overcome every difficulty to get where they are today. I asked their recommendations and advice for my career path as an engineering student who is about to enter the workforce. They also discussed some of the most important lessons they learned, and the decisions they wish they made. One consistent theme during the presentation was to make sure you only aspire towards work that you love and have a deeply ingrained passion for. Otherwise, the work is meaningless and won’t go where you need it to. Secondly, they all experienced failure after failure along the path to success. They recommended learning from every failure and assured us that these lessons in failure will one day ensure great success.

As we walked into YouTube’s building, I wasn’t very interested. I tend to feel more passionately about tactile and physical projects, rather than services that are purely coding based. However, as Ms. Kim began speaking about her background and experience, it became blatantly clear that I needed to pay more attention. She spoke about her work with the US Pentagon, a series of startups, and a series of open source projects. Her resume was by far one of the most impressive I had ever seen. I asked her for her advice for a fresh graduate engineer. She recommended continuous learning, and making sure that your work is exceptional first and foremost. She said not to worry about managing or leadership initially, and rather to ensure that the work itself is valuable. She also recommended working on an open source project on the side of your first job to quickly boost your resume. Lastly, she mentioned a simple rule to ensure success. She said that one must enter the workforce, learn everything from your employer, and then on the first day that work gets repetitive, and there’s nothing left to learn, jump to the next opportunity. She said that this significantly improves your salary, and more importantly, allows you to decide on your job based purely on an investment in continuous learning.

On Day 2, we visited three companies, Airbnb, AJ+, and Tech Shop 2.0. As a mechanical engineering student, Tech Shop 2.0 was by far the most interesting of these visits. One of the important missing industries in Qatar is highly accurate machining and plastic forming. Seeing the way that Tech Shop 2.0 runs, and the fact that they offer courses to anyone who wants to learn machining was a great experience, and something that really inspired me. I spend countless hours on YouTube watching wood working, welding, casting, and machining videos. But due to limited availability in Qatar, I have almost no opportunity whatsoever to get my hands on these machines and make projects of my own. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who share these same feelings. Seeing Tech Shop 2.0 showed me that a successful Silicon Valley company doesn’t necessarily have to be an App or a website, but can be something tactile. 

Afterwards, we spoke with Mr. Nagi, who is an engineer turned marketing director. His story and experience was interesting to me. I had no clue that so many different career paths exist for engineers, and speaking with Mr. Nagi clarified to me that the only way to truly succeed is to pinpoint your own unique niche and skillset, and to run with it.

During our first day of company tours, we visited 500 Start Ups, Google, and Levi’s Stadium. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this first day, but decided that entering the tours with an open and inquisitive mind would likely be the best route. At 500 Start Ups, we met executive and founding members of the company, Marvin and Sharif Elbadawi. It was very interesting seeing how two seemingly clashing personalities could function together to create a very positive work environment and undoubtedly, a successful company. Marvin was brutally honest, and blunt about the shortcomings of past team members, and the decisions he has taken to ensure success. Sharif was also very honest, but spoke more about his own failures, rather than discussing failures of the company or other people’s decisions. This taught me that sometimes, clashing personalities fill the shortcomings of one another. Perhaps it is best to seek partnership with people who have strengths where you have weaknesses in order to ensure that all areas are covered, even if this creates discomfort or tension.

At Google, we met three employees. I enjoyed speaking with Sami Abu Haija, a machine learning engineer at Google. He, like myself, is a Palestinian engineer who lived in the United States. I rarely meet people with such similar backgrounds to my own, and meeting someone like Sami, who has become so successful was inspiring. After speaking with him for a while and asking him for advice, I spoke to him about my race car project and how I’ve always wanted to work in the automotive industry. He offered to send my CV to his friends at Tesla Motors (a dream company for an automotive or mechanical engineer). In this way, not only was I inspired by Sami, but I also gained a connection that may help me take the first step towards my goals of being a Formula 1 engineer.