Silicon Valley is home to numerous high-tech ventures. Walking along the streets of Mountain View and Palo Alto, the person you brush shoulders with could be the founder of the next big thing. It could be the next Youtube, the next Google, or the next Hyflux. Here technology is king. The ventures that get the most coverage are high-tech startups, purveyors of new technology or cool online concepts.

Yet today we managed to arrange for a meeting with a successful entrepreneur in an industry totally unrelated to bits and bytes, networks and chipsets. An entrepreneur involved in an industry close to the hearts (and stomachs) of a selected few – the food and beverage industry. This deviation was probably what led me to sign up for this dinner meeting. He was someone who had found success down a different lane. What I wanted to know was if the walk was the same.

The venue for the meeting was a place totally related to the roots of his fortune. Waiting for us in a brewpub off Castro Street, Mountain View was Mr. Pete Slosberg, the founder of Pete’s Brewing Co. and inventor of Pete’s Wicked Ale. Ah… Beer! Definitely one of our favourite topics.

Pete was kind enough to sit down over a chilled glass of brown ale (an absolutely splendid quaff we would like to add) and tell us about how it all started for him. His story is unique for one founded in the Valley in that it has nothing to do with engineering and technology.

He won an award for one of the homebrews he had made and decided to market his product. He attributes his success to luck - luck that he had won the award that planted the seed of an idea in his mind.

Pete covered a lot of ground during our session but what stuck in my head was his style. He had minimized cost (took some risk in the process) to prove his concept and roll out his product. Since his venture had nothing in relation to his job at the time, he could start work while still being employed. Pete and his partner had laid the ground rules to their company even before they had a product. There were only three if I recall correctly but the last one characterizes many of the startup cultures here in the Valley — nothing is to be taken seriously except the product.

Then from successful entrepreneur, Pete turned teacher-cum-evangelist for beer and started our education on the finer points of beer. Let me be honest, this was what I was looking forward to. He taught us differentiation of the brews by their colour and their content and at the end of it all, we put our lesson to practice, tasting an ale, a lager and a stout. Lip-smacking good, I tell you. What’s more, the lesson took only ten minutes. He had devised it as a way to extend the knowledge of servers in restaurants, with the intention of furthering the penetration of Pete’s Wicked Ale as an alternative to the mainstream brews.

I left the brew pub suitably woozy not just because of the alcohol but with the knowledge gained. Pete had given us an alternate perspective to approaching a startup and shared some really great experiences with us. As Singaporeans in the Valley, I appreciate the opportunities and privileges that would otherwise have been lost to me had I not made my journey here. And often it’s people like Pete who really make the trip worthwhile.

A new year has begun and what better way to celebrate it than the usual traditional Chinese 8 course dinner feast. The Lunar New Year Celebration dinner this year was co-organized by NUSEA, SABA and SGConnect at the Dynasty Restaurant in Cupertino. Held at a classy Chinese restaurant, the night was set for good food, great company, and an excellent line-up of entertainment.

NUSEA’s role was to encourage and rally Singaporean student bodies from colleges around the bay area, to join in this celebration and participate in the programs for the evening. We coordinated the programs for the evening and hosted the entire show. The night began with a well choreographed Fashion Show which featured clothes of oriental design, by Lan Vie, and shoes from our very own Singaporean Designer Nora Haron. Modeling and also a guest for the evening was Miss Asian American Queen, Jennifer Fields. Throughout the evening we had performances from the Stanford, Berkeley and NUSEA students in a mini Talent Competition. From NUSEA, Bernard and Sophia played and sang 关怀方式 <Guan Huai Fang Shi>, to the 450 strong turn-out.

The dinner not only allowed us to see the greater Singaporean community at large, but also allowed us to savor traditional Chinese dishes only served during the Chinese New Year. We even had Yu Sheng! It all ended well with an enthusiastic lion dance, much to the amusement of the many kids present. It was indeed an evening to remember.

-Harville Tan