The Caravan

The Search for the Land of Milk and Honey

In Exodus 3:33, the Jews searched for the land of milk and honey, as mentioned by the Lord. Silicon Valley began as a caravan with start-up companies wandering, looking for success, which became companies and, in time, grew into giants in their industry. How can a valley with the vision to create technology become myopic for some that failed to change with the evolution of technology? Silicon Valley began in the midsixties with companies like Memorex and Fairchild Camera that grew and fostered trail blazers like Lockheed, General Dynamics, Hughes, Rockwell, Litton, Varian, and Motorola with startups like Intel, AMD, and National Semiconductorall chasing the thought of great profits with no vision of what would it cost to get there. These were events that were witnessed by Joe Rios, a senior buyer for many Silicon Valley companies. Technology was developed over time and, by February 1999, with great expectations, created a frenzy to capture an elusive prize. It was a time when technologies converged, creating a potential for profit and an opportunity to seize market share from competitors. Only the quick and the resourceful would win the prize, and it was like the Oklahoma land rush; they saddled up, gathered the necessary materials and employees, and rode off toward a point on the horizon. Along the way, there were red flags, but they were ignored, while focusing on the treasure, not the path they were taking.