From Day 1, we hit the ground running and started with a team-building activity in the form of entrepreneurship-based 'speed-dating,' where we quickly got to know each other's 2-minute version resumes and what they were looking forward to and expecting for the Summit. We were then treated to a classic Stanford dining experience at the Arrillaga Dining Commons, a buffet-styled dinner complete with coffee (a necessity up here) and ice-cream. For the duration of the week, we were each assigned a ‘host’ student who would take us around the University during free time and ‘buzz’ us in everywhere we went with their ID cards. Personally, the dorm experience was something I’ve always wondered about and it was a truly eye-opening experience.
The rest of the days started with a bang, with Professor Richard Dasher who is, among many others, the Director of Stanford’s Technology Management Centre, a Board Director and senior lecturer. His talk would be the first of many deeply engaging sessions we would have, with the sheer experience of speakers such as Irina Kofman (COO of Google AI), Stanley Tang (Founder of DoorDash), Adam Rowell (CTO of Lucid) and many more capturing us with just their life stories and the lessons they had learnt about what it takes to build a business from scratch and succeed.
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| Aryan Ajdari (co-founder of 300 Selective, Actuarial Student at Macquarie University), Nicholas Benavides (Co-President of ASES, Masters of Computer Science at Stanford) and Chris Song (co-founder of 300 Selective, Commerce/Laws Student at University of Sydney) |
Every meal was an event in itself, ranging from picnics at the renowned Meyer Green field with the speakers for the day, to a formal banquet dinner at Palo Alto’s INDO restaurant and lounge, to a sponsored Chipotle dinner in the comfort of our dorm rooms with ASES alumni.
We also had the opportunity to tour many of Silicon Valley’s gems including Facebook and Salesforce, as well as Stanford’s very own D.school (Hasso Plattner Institute of Design), the birthplace of Design Thinking. Even walking around the vast university between sessions felt both humbling and enriching.
In between the talks, tours and meals, we had team-forming sessions and work hours to develop our pitches on the theme ‘Pioneering New Industries.’ My team brainstormed and agreed upon an idea that crossed my mind while I had to run for the bus in the middle of summer, fully dressed for my job interview: a platform which connects users with facilities and homes who are willing to provide an on-call shower service. Inspired by AirBnB, this platform would address both the user’s need for quick showers when they are on the run, and homes and facilities’ underutilisation of such shower equipment.
After two consecutive 3am prep nights, it was time for the presentation of our final pitches (unfortunately we didn’t secure first place, however I am able to refer you to Elisa Lillicrap, a second-year Commerce student at the University whose group won the first-place prize!)
Words cannot describe the amount of knowledge, insight, and resilience I gained over just seven days. Most importantly, I will always cherish the 50+ lifelong friends from all over the world that I’ve made, who I believe will truly be the next leaders in a generation rising up to take the business world by storm. Whether it be India, Russia, China, or back to San Francisco, I will always have a place to stay.
Written by Chris Song
Third year Bachelor of Commerce/Laws student
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