Esteem student Keith J. Marrero Jr. is providing daily updates of the Class of 2014 Spring Break Trip to Silicon Valley.
Friday morning brought us to SAP, which produces solutions for management and data analytics as well as cloud computing. Daniel T. Opine welcomed us and we listened to several speakers discuss SAP overall as well as SAP Ventures. Similar to Google, SAP has an entire business segment dedicated to investing in start-ups and helping them grow. We learned that SAP Ventures has invested in over 1,000 start-ups in 22 industries in 55 countries worldwide. This new segment also provides SAP with another window into innovation.
The end of our visit with SAP marked the end of our trip to Silicon Valley. Though we visited numerous places and learned a great deal of information, our time in the Valley seemed all too short. Looking back on the week, we got to visit some outstanding companies and delved into their inner workings, giving us a look into the entrepreneurial way of life of Silicon Valley. We'll all look back on this trip as one of the more memorable aspects of our ESTEEM experience this year. The only downside to the trip is the contrast between the spring-like weather in the Valley and the lingering winter where we return.