booktv, 48 hours about programming beginning saturday morning at eight eastern through monday morning at eight eastern. .. >> host: the name of the book, "secrets of silicon valley," the author, deborah perry piscione. you write that silicon valley is its own unique ecosystem. what do you mean by thatsome. >> guest: well, you know, it's a very distinctive culture that is based on collaboration, cooperation and consensus, and i

know in washington, d.c. that's quite a foreign concept. but while many people have discussed elements of silicon valley, what i did was taking a step back. being an outsider, it gave me the unique perspective to really draw in and say what is it that makes this culture connect. and it is this ecosystem where you have your educational institutions such as stanford university, you have your venture capitalists, you have your service providers, your lawyers, your bankers, your accountants, that sort of thing, your entrepreneurs, and many other factors that really make up this ecosystem. and where people become involved in the process of an entrepreneur's idea from start to finish. and that's what makes it so unique, is there's such engagement at so many different levels. >> host: you go on to write that there is something in the air here between stanford and pal low aloe, google and -- palo

alto, google and cooper teach know. >> guest: that's correct. that's what i tried to capture the essence of. again, the outsider's perspective of what would somebody want to know about silicon valley if they had never been there. so i'm often asked who is this book for, and it's really for entrepreneurs to people who are interested in how silicon valley works but all the way up to, of course, corporate america and government who can learn from the unique way of this bubble-based economy that silicon valley is based on meaning that if you're trying to generate as a government and you're looking for ways to generate new revenue, silicon valley has the answers. if you're trying to explore and ignite better innovation within your companies, silicon valley has the answers. and then from an entrepreneur's stand point, you is entrepreneurship different in silicon valley than other places, which it distinctly is. pause so much of -- because so much is often based on failure

and learning from one's experiences, but it's also recognizing that you can be part of the process of adopting other people's ideas, or you may have the idea for the next big thing. but the bottom line is, there is an authenticity to the way that things are done in silicon valley that's veryied -- very accepted no matter who you are. >> host: you go on to write that failure is a badge of honor. >> guest: it is. and i have to say i'm not completely convinced across the board. i don't think any investor wants to go into an investment knowing that entrepreneur is going to fail. but there is a batting average in silicon valley. most venture capitalists will tell you out of ten investments that they make, they'll hope for one big hit, three that will do okay, and the rest probably will fail. but when you're talking about an individual angel investor which is how i got my initial investment, i don't think she wanted to go into this

investment and fail and losing $5 million. >> host: did she lose it? >> guest: no, she hasn't lost it. [laughter] >> host: deborah perry piscione, how did silicon valley develop? >> guest: that is such a fantastic story because it's a vast story, and not one person owns that story. so when i was researching for this book and people would find out i was working on this book, people would say do you go back to the 1950s when that's really the electronics industry and semiconductors really started to evolve. but i go all the way back in looking at the efforts of leland stanford who was the founder of stanford university and the commitment he made in recognizing that students needed to have direct usefulness in life. and he felt that science was the vanguard. and it was something that was ignored by east coast universities. so he was looking to build something very different. but on top of that what leland

stanford did was he made sure there was connectivity between stanford and the surrounding industry -- the very little that there was at that time -- in addition to professors getting involved in civil, civic engagements as well. be on the board of planning commissions and really having a voice in the development of pal lowal eau and the surrounding -- palo alto and the surrounding community. from there i definitely identify that the leading act fors that create silicon -- factors that create silicon valley. but i believe william somethingly and the treacherous eight, there was eight guys that came to work for shockly at shockly semiconductors who got a little fed up with his management style and also wanted to continue down path of working on semiconductors. they had all worked at bell labs together in new jersey, and william shockly couldn't quite make up his mind what he wanted to do. so these guys explored what really became the first venture capital investment, although

they didn't know that at the time. what they thought they were going to do was become part of a new business unit of an existing company. but really what they did was develop fairchild semiconductor. and out of those companies spun out other companies, and out of those companies, those original co-found orers -- found beers that were all involved in shockly's semiconductor, they estimate up to 130 companies that have come out of it. and what it did was it made it very acceptable to be able to spin out, you know, be dissatisfied or have a great idea one day and be able to start a company the next. >> host: who was leland standford, and how did stanford university come act? >> guest: well, unfortunately, it was over tragic events. so leland stanford actually first made his money, he came west during the gold rush. but he didn't make money, actually, in gold. he made his first, you know, batch of money really supplying

minders with the tools -- miners with the tools that they needed. but he realized that the west was going to expand dramatically, so he recognized that railroads, they needed transportation, they needed infrastructure. so he was a railroad baroness who ran for golf and got -- governor and got very, very involved in california, very involved at the federal level. unfortunately, he and his wife jane who had waited to have their child, leland jr., they actually had him at -- leland was 44 years old, jane was 39 years old. and just prior to leland jr.'s 16th birthday, he unfortunately contracted typhoid fever and died in florence, italy. so it was a really tragic event. so the stanfords looked for an opportunity to really commemorate their son, and they

wanted to figure out how can all of california's children be their children. how can they best serve this grow withing western population in a way that would commemorate their son. and out came the birth of leland jr -- leland stanford be jr. university. >> host: and herbert hoover was the first graduate or first student at stanford. >> guest: yeah. he's deemed the first student because he actually moved into the dorm first. >> host: deborah perry piscione, can you underestimate the importance of stanford to silicon valley? >> guest: no, you truly can't. when we first moved there, we had been living in the washington, d.c. area for 18 years and moved out there less than seven years ago and people kept asking me, don't you want your kids to go stop signford? -- stanford? i said, no, i want them to go back to east coast schools. it was just an academic environment i was used to since

i was schooled on the east coast. now living there for nearly seven years it is unparalleled, the collaborative environment that stanford provides. it's so based in collaboration and students working together that professors actually have to document on their syllabus when students can't work together. and the interesting thing is not just this continued foresight of collaboration and this commitment towards science and now engineering and technology, but also how stanford works with the border, the surrounding community, but also works with the next generation of kids. the opportunity for k-12 kids starting with being nursery school is just remarkable that silicon valley kids are this additional advantage, i think, of being raised in the area irrespective of what their socioeconomic status is of having the exposure to the religion and support of

entrepreneur hardship. and i think most kids who attend stanford university, young adults, have some desire to do some form of entrepreneurship whether it's their company themselves or working in a start-up. so it very much dictates that kind of culture. >> host: in your book, "secrets of silicon valley," here's a quote: in washington, you write, i was indoctrinated into the philosophy of destroy your enemy, eat your young. while i am grateful for the how-to-win skills that serve me well today, i was sold a bill of goods. i didn't really do anything because most people in washington, d.c. don't do anything except opine and deliberate over the latest, often inconsequential political and/or policy spin. >> guest: yes. and so, you know, it's -- i have a great love for washington d.c. i think it's an extraordinary place. but i did spend almost 18 years being an observer, and now i've been a creator now having

created three companies in nearly six years. and i think the difference is that the importance of which side of the political aisle you're on, who you support, which issue are you going to put forth trumps anything that would foster a collaborative and a creative environment. so i went from this environment of people asking me, well, who do you work for to what's your passion and how can i help you. and that a's something really different. -- and that's something really different. i went into deep culture shock moving west and really trying to understand this collaborative way without people wanting something in return. that was quite an adjustment. >> host: now, you come from a conservative republican background, ileana ros-lehtinen, george h.w. bush, the independent women's forum. is it tough to be a conservative republican in silicon valleysome. >> guest: no, not. i say that people care about

issues more so hand politics per se. i did a briefing on capitol hill earlier, and it's just -- the questions kept coming up, how can washington get more engaged in silicon valley, and my response was stay out. you know, they don't want you there. just allow them to continue to do what they do best which is testimonying and an output of that is innovation. so there is great concern for the environment and cleaning the water and fixing problems that billions of people are affected to. in addition to recognizing that, um, there's an authenticity in the way things are done there. so the value is really placed on following through on your passion which has nothing to do with politics. >> host: does silicon valley in general, and i hate to generalize like that, but does silicon valley pay attention to what's going on in washington? >> guest: no. no. no, and if you looked back

recently, yes, there is a presence by some of the bigger companies overall. but, you know, i think some of the greatest challenges, i wrote an op-ed about this in "the wall street journal" this past week is really about what gets in the way, what are the barriers to innovation. so it could be these patent controls and the fact that cisco has to stand $50 million, mac chandler, the general counsel of cisco, was here a few weeks ago to testify on capitol hill about that. that's $50 million of what they now consider an innovation tax fighting innovation that could be rather put into research and development. and so, you know, there's not a great interest in washington. there's more about how to move the needle forward. they really look to the east rather than to the west. >> host: did your washington experience help you in silicon valley? >> guest: only in the sense of i developed a thick skin, and as a entrepreneur, you know, clearly you need a thick skin.

but those skills don't really transfer very well. you know, just learning -- i was schooled in the art of war. and that is not the way that silicon valley operates. it is more about how can i help you rather than you don't have to be my enemy. and what was really entering to me is sometimes competitors will actually, you know, figure out a creative way to partner together, to have them prosthelytize their product or their ideas to validate it and to give it credibility. so it was quite uniquely a dichotomy from where i came from. >> host: you talk about innovation versus invention in silicon valley. >> guest: yes. >> host: what do you mean? >> guest: well, what i mean by that is companies that are often concerned or trying to replicate silicon valley will think they need to be silicon valley. and invention is the big idea. but invention comes very, very, you know, we are definitely me, bu that exponential time

is based on innovation, really improving upon what's already existing out there. and that's really the distinction. invention is just a new concept, a completely disruptive technology versus innovation can be as simple in terms of just proving processes in your own local community. so i tell these jurisdictions that i sometimes consult to now that really you should be just looking to improve upon things. l.a., los angeles was trying to fix its traffic problem, and so they just spent about $400, $450 million synchronizing lights. that's innovation. so it doesn't have to be this brand new, disruptive technology. >> host: back to stanford, deborah piscione. you write in "secrets of silicon valley" that professors are encouraged or are allowed to be paid consultants. >> guest: yes. >> host: to businesses.

>> guest: yes. >> host: is that an unusual -- >> guest: it is unusual. i understand it's done re so now, but originally stanford did come up with this concept because, again, it was about having greater connectivity to what was truly going on in the business world. and this all dates back to leland stanford. i mean, that need to really understand how to best prepare students can only be done through the seamless system and having this exposure. um, and stanford also has an extremely strong licensing department. and because of that, you know, innovation or inventions such as google have profited dramatically because it was actually larry page who went to the licensing office and said, you know, i need to patent this, i need to shop this around. the intention was not necessarily to build a company initially. and so the benefits of stanford is that they now claim that over 6,000 companies have come out of stanford whether it's the

company itself or a business plan was created there. and fiscally, you know, financially they benefit tremendously. stanford made, you know, just off of its equity investment in google made $336 million alone in royalty income. so not bad. >> host: well, speaking of google, is google is the giant in silicon valley? >> guest: you know, i think there's many giants. i have to say i'm incredibly partial to google only in the sense that i think what they did was not only adopt the silicon valley culture, but then they massively expanded it. and what's so interesting to me, i mean, two sides of thought. you know, they were willing to do whatever or they could to create an incredible, creative environment for people to flourish and work within. and so whether it was their 20% role where they allowed people to have a day a week to do whatever they want, whether it was adopting more of the silicon valley lifestyle into the

workplace. so now, you know, when we first arrived at google, i saw that campus for the first time, and i thought, wow, it's so colorful. this is crazy, it's two stories. how could anybody take it so seriously? now they expanded way beyond that, and you go to the campus of google and you're going to get run over by bicycles or roller blades or some fun new outdoor activity. and it's just allowing people of to have some freedom to be creative. it's not about, you know, sitting in a cubicle from 8 to 6 and trying to ignite innovation in that environment. >> host: and you write in "secrets of silicon valley," some of the perks of working at google. on-site massages, free food -- >> guest: yeah. some of the best food you've ever had. yeah. it's really -- now, look, you could make the counterargument that some people think it's designed to people people there. when you can get your oil changed and your haircuts and

doctor appointments, but the bottom line is it allows people to get all of those has el les -- hassles done in the course of their workday so when they are home with their families, they can spend time with your family. >> host: you applied for a job at google. >> guest: i did. >> host: and you write about that. >> guest: i did. [laughter] you know, i wasn't purposely planning on applying for a job, but my resumé did end up on the desk of someone there, and next thing i knew i got a call from human resources and started going through that very onerous process. what google does is it gets multiple people engaged in different departments to have to green light you to go to that next stage. and then the final stage which i actually wrote that i did not make was they would have looked at my gpa or s.a.t -- >> host: from a hundred years -- [laughter] >> guest: yeah, from a hundred years ago which was a little

daunting. but i do understand trying to throw the most brilliant people in the room together. i'm not discrediting myself here, but there is algorithm in the way that google does everything. and hiring is part of that practice. >> host: does washington understand silicon valley? >> guest: no, absolutely not. no. and, you know, it's -- i'm not sure it's supposed to, because i think washington, um, is trying to look at it from the perspective of sort of the industrial relic. you know, we still think outside of silicon valley if you say the word entrepreneur, it's not necessarily well embraced,? it can be perceived as unemployed, not knowing what you want to do in life, or you're this small business owner. and nobody in silicon valley thinks of themselves as a small business owner. you know, you think whether you're going to build a company for ten people or 10,000 people,

you really do have a very different start-up mentity overall. so i think washington is looking from certainly an economic standpoint. you know, we tend to look through the lens of economics and traditional monetary and fiscal policy, so i think there's a lot to learn to this third leg of the stool that silicon valley offers which is culture and how culture can play into a regional economy. >> host: you don't write about this, but could you compare detroit and the car industry to silicon valley and the differences? or are they alike? >> guest: no, i don't know that they're alike. it's been extraordinary. first of all, the one time i think silicon valley took in significant amount of money, that company failed. so that should show you something like -- [inaudible] no, i don't compare, and i don't want to claim that i know detroit really well. i've only been there once. certainly, the turn around with some of the companies has been fantastic, but what i think detroit is doing is getting more

in tune to the technologies of silicon valley. and i write in the book that it's momportant to have an office in silicon valley than it is in new york or washington because if you don't pay attention to where technologies are heading, you're going to be looking at the same place eastman kodak did, you know, a multibillion dollar company that went out of business with practically overnight without understanding where the technology was happening. and the iphone really putko damage eastman out of business. >> host: you write governments around the world most notely china, norway, tie won, south korea and finland continuously send delegations to silicon valley to try to discover its secrets, to stand in the middle of the graduate school at stanford, and you'll hear a myriad of languages spoken among the delegates, etc., etc. >> guest: it is remarkable. it's actually very exciting, and

it's not just limited to the business school. you can be -- my 7-year-old twin boys took a math class in the math building at stanford because, again, they offer these opportunities for surrounding children. and you could be standing there, and i think their class was from 6-8 on a thursday night, and you will see busloads of chinese tourists, you know, just marching, parading into the main quad with cameras everywhere. it's almost, it's a must-stop place on their, you know, tour of the bay area. and now i understand why. and it truly is something to learn from. >> host: why did you move out there? >> guest: originally, it was my husband's job. he had a job transfer. but it was my work that has now kept us there. >> host: and you've started a couple of companies. what are they, and how did you begin them? >> guest: i did. you know, really by default. but it is a, i think, not necessarily a typical silicon

valley but certainly one that you hear often. i wanted to furring out what the whole -- figure out what the whole start-up world was about. i wasn't real familiar with it and ended up working at another start-up when i first moved out there and kind of just took a backseat. and i thought, well, this is really interesting, the way that works. because, again, there was much more open dialogue and transparency than i was used to. the ceo would rural ri disclose d literally disclose all the terms of how the company was doing, and that was really interesting to me. unfortunately, that particular company went belly up. but the investor from that company came to my co-founder and i and said i like you guys, figure out something to do, and i'll fund you. and it was literally an initial $250,000 investment with no business plan, not much of a vision, not sure where we were going. he was an engineer, you know, i had a content background, and we thought let's kind of bridge this together and see what happens. so we developed betty

confidential which became one of the leading web sites, magazine web sites for women. and out of that a couple years later we built the ali to the valley community which is a leading community for women in entrepreneurship and private equity and venture capital and really for the purposes of deal flow. but we eventually opened that up as well just to recognize that in order to have deal flow that a lot of women really needed to be at the table to be able to participate. and lastly i got absolutely fascinated in where science was heading and realized after spending time at singularity university for the research of this book that i needed to change the school where my kids were attending, and i was fascinated by these future sciences in artificial intelligence or robotics, nanotechnology and felt that there needed to be some sort of gaming around the way particularly boys and kids like to play, but having them get

exposure to where these future technologies lie because our academic system so trapped in a 20th century work force, and we wanted some exposure to the 21st sent -- >> host: what is singularity university? >> guest: singularity university is probably one of the most remarkable places i've been to. it is housed out of moffett field, it has been co-founded between peter finish. [inaudible] and ray kurtzwell, two of the great futurist thinkers. and what peter really wanteddedo do was bring together the world's leading scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs under one roof and figure out how to join together to best serve these exponential technologies with particular focus on the greatest needs in the world. you know, how do we get clean

water, how do we get clean air. and they have their areas of discipline, and it really brought together numerous people around the world not just for the purposes of a four-year traditional university which it is not. it's more for an executive education program for entrepreneurs and between entrepreneurship and more executive learning over longer periods of time where executives can come from very traditional companies and learn what innovation is all about. >> host: we only have a few minutes left. you write: upon moving here to silicon valley, we were told that it was easy to meet people, but it was hard to get to know them. >> guest: yeah, yeah. it was. it's an entricep. ed, you know, community -- entrenched community. on the one hand, it was incredibly open because i'd be standing online at starbucks or wherever, at the banks or grocery store, and people would just talk to you and introduce yourselves and find out you were

new to town and ask who you could meet, but at the same time there is a little bit of an entrenched community around stanford. so you're an alumni of stanford or of this company. but it is this tight collaboration that makes silicon valley what it is. because so much of it is built on these relationships that east came out of stanford -- that either came out of stanford or existing companies. so it takes a little time to find your rhythm there. >> host: what's the downside to silicon valley? >> guest: well, i think if you would -- there's a lot of concern with the socioeconomic status. it's incredibly expensive place to live. i write about the astronomical cost of housing, the economist had an interesting article a couple months ago blaming the housing costs of silicon valley on the intoir world crisis -- entire world crisis. they felt if more people could enter into silicon valley, we would have more technologies and more advancement and more opportunity for people to get engaged in this very muscular

economy that silicon valley offers. and, you know, the question i will always have is, is there a point when there's too much technology? there's too much availability? there's too much expose your? because once that's out there, you can't go backwards. that's it. >> host: deborah perry piscione is the author, "secrets of silicon valley" is the book. what everyone else can learn from the innovation capital of the world. this is "the communicators" on c-span. >> c-span, created by america's cable companies in 1979, brought to you as a public service by your television provide aer. provider. >> just ahead, russian president vladimir putin takes questions on a range of issues during his annual call-in program. after that irish president michael higgins on the challenges facing the european

union. then we're live as education secretary arne duncan and health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius discuss the obama administration's agenda for early childhood education. and later a panel discusses the legacy and lessons of the holocaust for modern day europe. >> russian president vladimir putin held his annual question and answer session last week in moscow. a reported two million questions were submitted to him by text, e-mail and phone on russia's economy, the global economic crisis, corruption in government and the boston marathon bombings. from moscow, here's the first hour of the five-hour program. ♪ ♪