The weekend was October 2, 1999. The scene was sunny Santa Clara, California. Time was of the essence. One had only 36 hours to mix and mingle with the most innovative and aggressive minds behind the industry’s success. The halls were packed with biggest and the brightest that the tech world had to offer. The alluring scent was that of deals being made and dreams fulfilled.
More than nine hundred Indian-American high-tech professionals and businesspeople showed up in droves for the two-day meeting of the minds. The weekend opened with a welcome address by siliconindia publisher Mona Sharma who attributed the success of the magazine to the success of the South Asian professionals around the world — and especially those in the Silicon Valley. “Every month we attempt to bring you a quality product that is both intriguing and informative, entertaining and motivating. But I have to be honest with you, all of you sitting here and all of you whose stories have graced our pages, are giving us great material to work with,” she said. On that note, her instructions were, “loosen your ties and your titles, and have a great weekend!”

At that point, siliconindia’s Manesh Judge, took over as weekend moderator. The first keynote presentation by Dr. Desh Deshpande, founder and chairman of Sycamore networks, addressed the opportunities of the ‘Digitial (R)evolution.’ He concluded by reminding entrepreneurs to maintain their balance. “Success will follow when you can juggle several balls: work, family, health, friends and spirit.”

In contrast to a simple educational conference, this power-packed agenda created a forum for CEOs, investors, entrepreneurs and students alike to exchange ideas, advice and information while mixing with truly global business legends like Sam Pitroda, CEO of Worldtel; Atiq Raza, former President AMD; John Dean, CEO Silicon Valley Bank and Vani Kola, CEO Rightworks.