TiEcon 2007: The Ecosystem Challenge

Day one of TiEcon 2007 with its theme The New Face of Entrepreneurship offered the local Silicon Valley chapter a stage to share and shine. Nineteen chapters worldwide stemmed from a single dream, not unlike the entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs streaming into Santa Clara's Convention Center. 

In some ways, the 2-day conference is living up to its theme, attracting one of the youngest CEOs at TiEcon, Anshul Samar looking for a million bucks in funding for his company Elementeo. In other ways it hasn't changed much and still reflects more of TiE's roots in the Indian community.

I was hoping this year's theme would reflect more of the rich mix of cultures we have here in the Bay Area, along with drawing more women to an event where buzz does have a way of delivering the goods at the end of two days. But as one female entrepreneur shared during a coffee-Haagen-Dazs break, "There's lots of women entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley who don't come here once they've made it."

Taking the non-profit from a U.S.-centric knowledge based organization to a truly global space will be TiE's big challenge in the next few years.  Shifts where new economies have their own success formulas to share and the U.S. is not the primary education source will drive exciting changes for TiE as it stretches to foster the entrepreneurial spirit on a global basis.   

Comments

[Dee McCrorey]

Insightful article, Steve. It was great reconnecting with you during TiEcon 2007 and thanks for sharing your cool tech tools for event blogging!

[Steve Yamaguma]

What struck me about the recent TiECON event (this was my 3rd year attending) is that it has gone far beyond the “techno-engineering-entrepreneur meet venture-capital-monies” event and is attempting to address social, cultural, economic and “health and well being” issues. Sure, there are the hundreds of entrepreneurs with innovations that will change the world (or at least make themselves very rich), but there were others that were truly interested in social networks and communities as not just a “web 2.0” phenomenon, but a means to connect with others, to share experiences and to enrich lives.

At first it seemed odd to me that one of the keynote speakers, Robert Ingram, Chairman and CEO of GlaxoSmithKline was discussing the healthcare system in our nation and how 45% of the total U.S. population has a chronic disease. Does this matter to the next “Bill Gates” whose well-guarded software code is on the line for a hefty round of VC funding? Well, considering 45% is almost one out of every two people, I think it should matter. In fact, isn’t that what really matters? Quality of life? Our health and well being? Our friends, family, community?

For sure TiECON embodies the spirit of Silicon Valley: The “think-out-of-the-box” entrepreneur. The “go beyond” attitude. The ‘next great thing”. But taking Silicon Valley to the next level of personal and social responsibility, community and environmental sustainability as well as global economic leadership is the bigger picture and the greater opportunity.

Enlightened TiECON founders brought the likes of yogi Sadhguru, Founder of the Isha Foundation to talk about “inner wellbeing” and “self-awareness” as a critical core of effective leadership. Meg Whitman, President and CEO of eBay, spoke not only about the visions and strategies that made eBay the number one ecommerce site on the internet today, but about eBay’s social responsibility and commitment to positive changes in the world through its philanthropic endeavors.

And what about Nobuyuki Idei, the deposed Chairman and CEO of Sony, who for the past 20 years guided the consumer electronics company to become a $70B global giant? He continues to invest in the future with his new company, Quantum Leap, guiding budding entrepreneurs and the next generation CEOs. His philosophy of “soft alliances” suggests that building relationships for the long term is the only way to sustain business.

Which brings us to Anshul Samar, the 13 year old CEO and founder of Elementeo, the creator of, a board game that teaches science and chemistry in a fun and challenging way. Watching Ansul pitch his company demonstrates that the vision and hope for the future lies in our youth. Their vision is more about “understanding the world around us in order to create a better life for all” than about “going IPO and creating wealth for the shareholders”. We must nurture and encourage this valuable commodity and continue to create an environment that is healthy, stimulating and supportive.

TiECON exemplifies the “best of the best” of the Silicon Valley brain trust. Let’s hope the “New Face of Entrepreneurship” is an enlightened leader that values long term sustainability and the health and well-being of our global community. I look forward to the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovations that will lead us to this vision of “world 2.0”.