HowTo for exotic birds in the Valley?
I am searching for maximum exposure to people of technology/startup background.
The thing is: As a soon to be PhD in Chemistry with experience in biotechnology I am a rather exotic bird in the business. I am a self taught python programmer, and had plenty of different jobs as side projects. Chance got me involved with the startup world and gave me some steep learning curve in the field with two failed projects (gastronomy point of sales system, luxury goods marketing and distribution company) in Berlin, Germany.
Unfortunately, getting in touch with the right people is the biggest problem: It is hard to assemble the right team in Germany, as most graduates with technical skills make a run for the large companies of the well paying industrial sector. Also, the city of Berlin, the so called "Silicon Valley" of Germany, is not the super shiny place it seems. There is a lot going on there in terms of startups, but it is mostly on-line marketing/sales/media/advertisement, a territory discovered long ago.
I am not afraid to get my hands dirty and "wet" - on the contrary, I love science, and love the stuff companies like mc10 inc do. However, I am well aware of the advantages of IT based products over chem/bio/medical products when it comes to development, risk and initial investment.
I can think, work hard, communicate, I love technology. So, where do I have to go to get the maximum exposure and build a good startup raft? Is the Valley something for me? Shall I buy a ticket and just fly there, like I did it with Berlin? Is there any place in Europe that could be compared to it?
I would be grateful for any directions, contacts, hubs etc, that could speed up my search.
Regards,
piotr
pioja at gmx dot net