They Made It!

Great leaders have been the stuff of many business books over the years with authors often promising to deliver THE key ingredients that can guarantee the readers success in their own careers. As we all know by now, there is no “secret sauce”. But there are a number of “recipes for success” with specific ingredients that if applied, may smooth the path upward.

These recipes are the result of conversations with foreign-born (as well as US) Silicon Valley/US entrepreneurs who tell it as it is. Each leader tells a unique, personal story of how s/he came to the US and ultimately made it. If you plan to immigrate to the U.S. and establish yourself in Silicon Valley, or if you are just curious to find out what make these extraordinary individuals tick, you can listen to these foreign-born professionals and gain personal insight into the fulfillment of their ambitions and dreams.

[Comments from readers]

Why you should read this book:

• To gain insights into the way leaders from different countries and cultures act and think
• To understand cultural differences and what influences these differences can have
• To get to know leading entrepreneurs from a more personal, approachable side
• To know what awaits you if you plan to come to the Silicon Valley/US to work or develop your own start-up
• To hear the individual voices speak about their own development – what did they have to face, what obstacles did they overcome?

If you’d like to get a copy of the bonus interviews of five, young leading executives, please contact me.

List of Interviewees

• Andy Bechtolsheim, Co-Founder, Sun Microsystems (Germany)
• Alex Vieux, Chairman/CEO Red Herring (France)
• Aliza Peleg, Director, SAP (Israel)
• Allen Wang, CMO, Google Asia (China)
• Aart de Geus, CEO, Synopsys (Netherlands/Switzerland)
• Arno Penzias, Venture Partner, New Enterprises Associates, Nobel Prize, 1978 (Germany)
• Charly Kleissner, Co-Founder, KL Felicitas Foundation (Austria)
• Chi Foon Chan, CFO, Synopsys (China)
• Dan Maydan, CEO Emeritus, Applied Materials (Israel)
• Dina Bitton, VP, SAP (France)
• Eric Benhamou, Chairman and CEO, Benhamou Gobal Ventures (France)
• Eric Buatois, Managing Partner, Sofinnova (France)
• George Shultz, Former US Secretary of State, Hoover Institute, Stanford University (US)
• Eric Schmidt, CEO, Goggle, (written answers) (US)
• Guy Gecht, CEO, EFI (Israel)
• Guy Kawasaki, Managing Partner, Garage Technology Ventures (US)
• John Hennessy, President, Stanford University (US)
• Henry Wong, Founder and Managing Director, Diamond Venture Technology (China)
• Khaled Olayan, Chairman, Olayan Group, (Saudi Arabia)
• Kamran Elahian, Chairman, Co-Founder, Global Catalyst Partners (Iran)
• Marc Onetto, SVP, Solectron (France)
• Marylene Delbourg-Delphis, Interim CEO, (France)
• Miriam Rivera, Lawyer, Google, (Puerto Rico/US)
• Nat Goldhaber, Managing Partner, Claremont Creek Ventures (US)
• Omid Kordestani, SVP, Google (Iran)
• Philippe Courtot, CEO, Qualys (France)
• Qi Lu, SVP, Yahoo (China)
• Raj Singh, CEO, Sonoa (India)
• Rajesh Gupta, Professor of Computer Science, UCSD (India)
• Samba Murthy, Founder & COO, Xambala (India)
• Sarit Firon, CFO, Olive Software (Israel)
• Scott McNealy, Co-Founder and Chairman, Sun Microsystems (US) (written answers)
• Shantanu Narayen, COO/President, Adobe (India)
• Steve Westly, Founder & CEO, The Westly Group (US)
• Suhas Patil, CEO, Cradle Technologies, (Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Cirrus Logic) (India)
• Vinton Cerf, Chief Evangelist, Google (US)
• Wu Fu Chen, Founding Partner, Genesis Campus Acorn Campus and Dragon Investment (China)

Table of Contents

Click to download the first and final chapters (PDF).

Interviews with the Author

• WEEKEND EDITION PODCAST: Interview With Angelika Blendstrup
• Radio interview with Angelika Blendstrup (in French)
• Radio interview on Pricewaterhouse Coopers startup radio

Comments

Commentary from Jean-Luc Firmin’s blog (in French)

“Immigrants from Andy Grove, to Vinod Khosla, to Sergey Brin have made Silicon Valley the extraordinary success it is today. This book provides valuable lessons learned from the successful entrepreneurs that will prove inspiring to people from every country.”

- Steve Westly, Founder and CEO, The Westly Group, Former California State Controller

“If you are looking for the high road to success in business and in life…if you are fascinated by the Silicon Valley dream and the stories of people who have shaped it, you have found a unique guide with Angelika Blendstrup’s new book. This book will help you stand on the shoulders of giants and remind you when you need it that anything is possible, that you can change the world and truly achieve your dreams.”

- Christian Forthomme, CEO, RealChange®, Aptos, California

“This is a wonderfully crafted book that illustrates the entrepreneurial spirit of America in general, and Silicon Valley in particular. Angelika’s personal story, together with the inspirational tales of those interviewed, strikes a chord with all generations and communities, collectively pursuing the American Dream.”

- Milan Mantri, Controller, Digital Chocolate, Co-Chair (Net-IP 2005)

“Many Europeans come to Silicon Valley drawn by the possibility of realizing their dreams and creating their own start-ups. The stories in this book by the international entrepreneurs of the Valley are a valuable resource and will give these newly arrived business men and women insights they might not have received otherwise.”

- Caroline Raynaud, Managing Director, GABA [German American Business Association]

“A fascinating book! Dr. Angelika Blendstrup has put together an accomplished and valuable composition on immigrants, their success and faith in progress. Her book portrays the American dream magnificently, or better said: the Silicon Valley dream.”

- Francois Dubrulle, Co-Founder and CEO of The Green Satellite

“Reading this book, I really got the sense of what some of these successful entrepreneurs went through. The greatest lesson is that most were able to rise to such great heights out of such ordinary beginnings. There wasn’t any magic other than a desire to move forward toward a vision, and the willingness to work at it. This book will bring greatness to you because you can see doing it yourself — i.e., changing the world is really not that unreachable after all — and that, IMHO, is the greatest take-away out of reading this book.”

- Scott SF Tse, Co-President of CSPA

“Les experiences vecues ainsi decrites dans ce recueil d’interviews permettent de vraiment toucher du doigt le magique ecosystem de la Silicon Valley”

- Bruno de Beauregard, Co-founder and CEO, Netcipia