Last week we took our next big step in #whatsnext as Tyler and I headed off to San Fran to get a feel for things in Northern California.
As most of you will know, the #whatsnext campaign wrapped up last month, with Tyler Harding from Team UK being appointed as the new GM for Northern California, and Alistair Edmonds from Team Oz being appointed as the new GM for Texas. To give Tyler a bit of a taste for what is to come, we both headed off to San Fran for the week and this is what we learned:
Lesson 1: San Fran is a pretty glorious place to live
Lesson number one was that San Fran is a pretty glorious place to live, having pretty much everything one could want in a hometown. Hustle and bustle? Tick. Great food? Tick. Culture? Tick. However, the highlight of the trip for me was the amazing nature right on the doorstep. Tyler and I made the thirty minute drive out to Muir Woods on Thursday, and went on a 2 hour hike, climbing the ridge-line amongst hundred year old red cedars, and finishing off in the Cedar Cathedral where some of the cedars are over 500 years old. Pretty amazing.
Lesson 2: San Franciscans (is that a thing?) love sport
Californians love sport. So do I. Tyler not so much. This meant that if Tyler was ever going to be a real San Franciscan we would need to convert him to becoming a mad sports fan. We started with the Ice Hockey and San Jose Sharks v the Boston Bruins, which whet Tyler’s taste buds. Also just as an FYI for anyone ever going to San Jose, it is NOT next to San Fran, and it certainly isn’t the 40 minute trip that we budgeted on. Luckily though in true Elevate style we provided ourselves with enough travel time to ensure that we made face-off! On Thursday we headed off to the basketball to see the Golden State Warriors play Sacramento in the North Cal derby match. Both teams delivered on my mission to convert Tyler, as the Warriors came back from being 11 points down, Steph Curry went on a 3-point war path, and just to really ensure that Tyler became a sports fan, dunked for the second time in his career. I cried. Tyler was confused. But he did finish the trip regretting that it was Baseball off-season and that the Giants weren’t playing. Mission achieved.
Lesson 3: Inspiring Place for Business
Finally, just to really hit home and inspire Tyler on the journey he is about to start, we headed off to Silicon Valley, starting our journey at the Garage where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started Apple, moving onto the Garage where Hewlett Packard was started and then wrapping up looking for the Garage where Tyler will start Elevate North Cal. We took the journey full circle by then visiting Apple’s new HQ at 1 Infinity Drive, which was an inspiring reminder that great things start from humble beginnings.
So what's next for TyTY and San Fran?
Our 5 days in San Fran were absolutely awesome, and we only just scratched the surface. I am looking forward to getting back and getting to see more of the place, and I won’t need to wait too long. Tyler will wrap up with the UK business in July, join us for GM Conference in New York, and then officially start the process of opening the San Fran office in September. Exciting times.
But remember – this is just the beginning. In July, we will start the search for another 4 people to head overseas for new territories. We will be looking for 2 people to join either Tyler or Alistair in their new territories, and we will also be looking for the next 2 GMs to open the next new 2 territories in….Nahh…you will need to wait until July to find out. If you want to stay up to date as we count down to announcing where the new territories might be, or if you want to find out more about what is entailed in starting a territory, or you want to throw your hat in the ring, then sign up to this mailing list for information regarding the announcement of the new territories https://mailchi.mp/1d1423c57f9c/whatsnext.