Silicon Valley Tour: A Straight-out Talk about Startups, the Latest IT Products and Fierce Competition [2-7/06/2014] Tour Topics: IT Startups: Lessons for Burgeoning Entrepreneurs. IT Investments. Surviving the Fierce Competition. Companies Visited: Google, Stanford University, Frost & Sullivan, Intuit, Intel, Singularity University, Vestor.in, Bridgescale, SAP, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Plug-and-Play Tech Center, Box, Facebook, Mohr Davidow Ventures, 500 Startups, TechShop, Oracle, Juniper Networks, and Computer History Museum. On June 2 through 7, the top managers of major CIS IT companies had an exciting journey to Silicon Valley where they studied successful practices of the global IT leaders and found answers to a number of important questions concerning their business. Every single day was an unforgettable experience for the tour participants who had many productive meetings with amazing people and established new business contacts which are absolutely necessary for business growth. Now, let us tell the story of how the FastForward business tour participants ventured into the global center of state-of-the-art technology. Day One: Back to Basics We touched down at the San Francisco International Airport and from there proceeded to the Four Seasons Hotel for our check-in. After a light breakfast, we started our first busy day as part of the IT Business Tour. First, we attended a presentation called ‘Introduction to Silicon Valley’ which was held by the tour organizers. After the presentation, we were taken on a tour of the Stanford University. This truly fascinating place sets the pace and determines the course of development for all the IT companies in Silicon Valley. Stanford has a great impact on the development of the Silicon Valley IT sector and adapts its research to the industry’s needs. Thanks to such an efficient symbiosis of education and business Silicon Valley has become the number one source of groundbreaking technology. It is something to aspire to, isn’t it? After a tour of the Stanford University, we headed for Frost & Sullivan. This consulting company specializes in IT market research and analysis. For the most part, Frost & Sullivan delivers prognoses for IT development over the next 5 to 10 years. It’s always nice to know what the future has in store, isn’t it? Naturally, the tour participants asked many questions which Frost & Sullivan’s Chairman David Frigstad was only too happy to answer. We had a very informative discussion, but there were many more fascinating things waiting for us, and so we left for Google. Our journey wouldn’t be complete without it, right? The Most Valuable Brand in the World Google is the most valuable global brand according to BrandZ, while Brand-Finance calls it the most expensive brand. Moreover, Google is recognized as the most admired company in the US, having overtaken Microsoft, Sony, and other major companies. As is tradition, our visit started with a tour of the Goo

1. 1
TOUR SCHEDULE
Professional Development Program
Silicon Valley Management Tour
Please be advised that the tour schedule may be changed. For further information on the finalized
program, please contact the organising committee. If a visit to one of the companies cannot be carried
out as planned, a tour of an equally prominent company in the field will be scheduled.
Day of the
Week/Hour
Activities Representative
THE GROUP ARRIVES ON SUNDAY
FastForward provides transportation from the San Francisco International Airport to the Four
Seasons Hotel http://www.fourseasons.com/siliconvalley in Palo Alto (a city in Silicon
Valley). 2050 University Avenue, East Palo Alto, CA 94303
MONDAY. Silicon Valley: An Overview or How Does This Work? Present and Future,
Stanford Day.
8.00 – 9.00 Breakfast at the hotel
9.00 – 9.30 Official welcome and program
overview
Dmitriy Bondar
(Director at FastForward)
9.30 – 12.00 An Overview of the Silicon Valley
IT Industry and Major IT Trends in
the USA and Worldwide.
The presentation provides an
overview of the US IT segment as
well as various technological
innovations, latest trends and
technologies which are being
launched.
The tour participants will learn more
about the key factors influencing the
IT industry development in SV. They
will also find out how SV IT business
pioneers change their strategy and
respond to rivals’ and customers’
challenges in order to stay
competitive and profitable.
Burton Lee
(Professor at Stanford Business
School)
12.00 – 13.00 Lunch
13.00 – 15.00 Visit to Stanford University
The participants will be given a tour
of the university, museum and
library during which they will learn
about Stanford’s history and present
activities. They will also examine
relationships between academic
institutions and businesses in Silicon
Valley. The participants will discover
how Stanford influences IT
development in the Valley and vice
versa.
Ilja Gruen
Stanford Business School
15.00 – 15.30 Departure for SAP

2. 2
Day of the
Week/Hour
Activities Representative
15.00 – 17.00 Visit to SAP
The director and product marketing
expert at SAP, a leading business
software solutions company on the
market, will speak on products,
innovation and current
developments.
Victoria Menshchikova
Director, product marketing
17.00 – 17.30 Departure for dinner
17.30 – 19.30 Dinner
529 Alma Street Palo Alto CA
19.00 – 19.30 Return to the hotel
TUESDAY. How Are the Startups Born?
8.00 – 8.30 Breakfast at the hotel
8.30 – 9.00 Departure for 500 Startups
9.00 – 13.00 Visit to the 500 Startups
Incubator.
500 Startups is one of the most
prominent IT incubators in Silicon
Valley.
Analyzing the distinctive features of
Silicon Valley incubators; PPTC
presentation as an example of
infrastructure opportunities for
startups.
Free discussion of international
startups in a casual atmosphere.
Visit summary.
13.30 – 14.00 Lunch
14.00 – 16.30 Twitter
An expert in Twitter Russian
Services localization will share her
vision and speak on the current
developments at one of the fastest
growing sites and microblogs in the
world.
Rusana Novikova
Twitter Russian Localization
16.30 – 17.00 Departure for a meeting with an
entrepreneur
17.00 – 19.00 Successful Businessmen
A successful Silicon Valley
entrepreneur’s experience
Igor Shoifit
fotki.com
17.30 – 18.00 Departure for dinner
18.00 – 20.00 Dinner Dinner at the hotel
20.00 – 20.30 Return to the hotel

3. 3
Day of the
Week/Hour
Activities Representative
WEDNESDAY. Expert Day
8.00 – 9.30 Breakfast at the hotel
10.00 – 11.30 A meeting with an expert in
recruiting & executive search.
During the meeting, the participants
will learn more about the ongoing
“talent wars” in Silicon Valley and
challenges the IT companies are
facing in the recruiting field.
Natasha Mantle,
Managing Partner,
Alexander&Krol Executive Search
12.00 – 14.30 A meeting with a venture capital
expert
The participants will learn about the
basics of venture capital financing,
Silicon Valley venture funds
operating principles, rules of
investing in high-tech startups, and
startup selection criteria.
Benjamine Stingle
Businessman, former DFJ employee
14.30 – 15.00 Lunch
15.00 – 18.00 Visit to Microsoft
A tour of the global software giant’s
campus. Meeting the speakers and
discussing the trends in Cloud
Computing development and other
topics. Q&A Session.
Kenny Spade,
Developer Evangelist at Microsoft
18.30 – 20.30 Dinner Dinner at the hotel
THURSDAY. Community Oriented Companies Day
8.30 – 10.00 Breakfast at the hotel
10.00 – 10.30 Departure for Facebook
10.30 – 12.00 Visit to the Facebook head office:
The number one rapidly growing
social network in the world.
During the reconnaissance visit to
Facebook, the participants will learn
more about the company and the
social model of Internet
development.
A Q&A Session is scheduled, during
which the participants’ questions will
be answered.
Lesya Pishchevskaya
Marketing and Advertising Expert at
Facebook
12.00 – 12.30 Lunch
12.30 – 13.00 Departure for Juniper

4. 4
Day of the
Week/Hour
Activities Representative
13.00 – 15.30 Visit to Juniper
The participants will learn about the
latest developments in network
solution and Clout Computing areas.
Andrey Titov
Senior Product Manager
15.30 – 16.00 Departure for Oracle
16.00 – 18.00 Visit to Oracle:
One of the most respected and
influential corporations
encompassing a wide range of
business software, from DBMS to
ERP systems.
During the meeting, the participants
will learn about the business
software development trends and
gain an insight into development
trends of a company as an industry
driver.
Elena Sapozhnikova
Project Lead
18.00 – 18.30 Departure for dinner
18.30 – 20.00 Dinner Café Renzo
473 University Ave, Palo Alto, CA
19.00 – 19.30 Return to the hotel
FRIDAY. Google Day and Tour Summary
8.00 – 8.30 Departure for Google
8.30 – 9.30 Breakfast at Google
9.30 – 13.30 Google office tour.
Visit to Google headquarters
GooglePlex which houses 10,000
employees.
“How Does This Work?” The group
will visit Google headquarters and
learn about Google corporate
management in general. The tour of
GooglePlex will be organized
especially for the guests.
Q&A Session.
Paul Assoyan
13.30 – 14.00 Lunch at Google Restaurants (14
types of cuisine). At the restaurant,
one has a good chance of meeting
Google founders and top managers.
Paul Assoyan
14.00 – 14.30 Departure for the hotel
Paul Assoyan

5. 5
Day of the
Week/Hour
Activities Representative
14.30 – 16.30 Week Summary. Lessons learned
(with Sanford professor Burton
Lee).
During the session, we will be able
to focus on the ways to use
everything we’ve learned to improve
business profitability, efficiency and
development.
Certificate presentation ceremony.
Formal closing ceremony.
Burton Lee
Professor at Sanford Business
School
16.00 – 16.30 Departure for the closing dinner
17.00 – 19.00 Closing Dinner of the Week
All the speakers and experts the
group has met during the week are
going to be invited.
Left Bank
635 Santa Cruz Ave, Menlo Park,
CA
21.00 – 21.30 Return to the hotel
SATURDAY. Cultural Program
The group leaves for a one-day tour of San Francisco.
San Francisco is considered a prominent cultural
capital of the United States. Here are some of the
best known places of interest:
The famous Golden Gate Bridge (2,730 meters long,
1,280 m bridge span) and Golden Gate Park (7 sq.
km.) which features various museums, the Japanese
Tea Garden, the Buffalo Paddock, tennis courts, and
sports grounds.
The picturesque Alcatraz Island situated in the San
Francisco Bay. Though it is quite close to the city, the
island is home to the famous Alcatraz Prison which is
now abandoned. Over the years, Alcatraz housed
many notorious criminals including the legendary Al
Capone.
The group departs on Sunday
FastForward will provide transportation from the hotel to the San Francisco International
Airport.