Basic HTML Version
FireFlyz | 29
of a real business
need, Mugilan
c o - f o u n d e d
Targetzen with
Vilashiny Silvara-
jan (COO) and
pitched IAT, a
highly precise tool
that helps users
reach out to their
target audience
and optimise ROI.
Targe t zen’s
exper i ence in
Si l icon Val ley
was an extremely
enjoyable and
insightful one. A favourite of Mugilan’s
is Philz Coffee’s latte and breakfast sets,
and urges anyone in San Francisco to
give the food trucks a try. New friends
were made and Mugilan was excited to
be able to resolve development conflicts
during their time immersing themselves
in the high-energy, marathon-like Silicon
Valley culture. “The drive, excitement and
intensity of startup culture, and indeed
much of tech in general, draws people to
this industry.”, opined Mugilan.
Mugilan and Vilashiny are happy to
have had the opportunity to improve
themselves and learn from the tough, but
rewarding startup culture in SV. We invite
him to share some nuggets of wisdom for
would-be entrepreneurs: “When figuring
out where to start, the first place to look is
at your passions andwhat problemsmight
need solving in that platform. Be willing to
reverse assumptions, study your industry’s
history or look outside
STARTUP
Silicon Valley Culture:
FireFlyz
speakstoCEOsoftwoMalaysianstartupsabouttheirexperienceasparticipantsof
theMSCMalaysiaGlobalLinkagesProgram,aneffortbyMalaysia’sMultimediaDevelopment
Corporation (MDeC) to link local startups to the SiliconValley (SV) ecosystem.
ReservO
GanChai Yee
could not believe it when
she got a call from MDeC informing her
that she was shortlisted for the MSC
Malaysia Global Linkages Program - she
never thought she would make the cut to
the competitive programme for the most
promising Malaysian startups. Despite
initial fear, the CEO of the online booking
site ReservO steeled herself, took three-
and-a-half weeks off her contracting
work and joined other talentedMalaysian
startups in their Silicon Valley journey.
When not moving around San Fran-
cisco to meet up with mentors, visit top
companies like Google, Facebook and
Apple, or pitch to potential Venture Capi-
talists, Chai Yee indulged in the savoury
wonders of popular American fast food
chain Chipotle.
She is especially grateful to have been
able to bring back snippets of wisdom,
especially of the serial entrepreneur Steve
Blank, who debunked the myth that
hardware products are more expensive to
test, citing his own Stanford students who
approached him to fund a US$100,000
drone project for farmers.
He reasoned that all they needed to do
was to validate the idea that the farmers
would be willing to pay a certain price for
a US$2 report. It was a powerful anecdote
showing how often we expend resources
on prototypes when all we really need is to
validate the idea that the buyer is willing to
pay a certain amount of money in return
for projected potential earnings.
Other astute observations included
how the SV environment is about “tough
love” and brutal honesty – but all in the
Targetzen
With
over 12 years experience in digital
media and advertising, founder and CEO
Mugilan Chitambaram returned from the
US to introduce a breakthroughmethodol-
ogy in Facebook advertising -- the Intel-
ligent Audience Targeting tool. Borne out
name of progress, of course. Overall, the
result was a more enlightened, toughened
Chai Yee, ready to take on the entrepre-
neurial world.
Paving Way to Success with Tough Love
Chai Yee of ReservO
attempts to munch on
the sweet success of the
Android OS Honeycomb
at the Googleplex!
The sun shines brightly
despite the cool weather in
San Francisco as Vilashiny and
Mugilan pose for a quick photo
outside the Googleplex.