A series of blogs to document my 1st experience to America, and what I learned as a Malaysian startup.

I recall seeing SIDEC’s post some months ago about the opening of submissions for their inaugural Silicon Valley trip. At the time, I couldn’t help but imagine the possibilities that could come from participating in such an exciting program. However, I never truly believed that our company would be selected to take part, especially since we were still in the early stages of exploring the potentials in Silicon Valley, the land of promise for tech companies!

SIDEC Pitch Malaysia USA Series Programme Poster!

 

When I attended the program briefing, I learned that this year’s event would be slightly different. Instead of solely spending time in Silicon Valley, the delegation would also participate in the Select USA summit in Washington D.C., which was a significant event with security guards everywhere, and the US ambassador present for the opening ceremony. As I looked around the audience, I noticed many impressive and promising startups, which further reduced my expectations of being selected.

But hey, in entrepreneurship, every opportunity is a chance to take. What’s more important is the effort to obtain the moment, rather than just fretting on things that we cannot control.

Fast forward few weeks later, we found out that Virtualtech Frontier has been selected as one of the top 11 companies for this programme!

READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE: https://www.bernama.com/en/general/news.php?id=2183876 

The days leading to it was super hectic, as the long trip of almost 2 weeks long will require a lot of delegation to the team at VTF, and lots of self-preparation on my own for US VISA application and so on. I remember few years back in 2019, at the very same moment too, I had a similar trip to Alibaba’s HQ in Hangzhou, China. Would the experience be the same or event better?
My final flight to US included a 20-hour layover in Qatar via Qatar Airways, a fruitful and tired 44 hours later, good morning America indeed!

Qatar Skyline in the Background

 

Good morning America! 1st American flag from Washington DC Dulles International Airport

 

1st Friend in America Dr.Kev of QMED

Read on over here for Day 1 of the Select USA Investment Summit!