Tech Chic in Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is home to the wealthiest working billionaires in the country.  There is not one speck of bling nor glitz to be found in Palo Alto.nor the surrounding area communities  In bygone days we witnessed millionaires on their way to a performance of the Metropolitan Opera on a Monday night decked out from head to toe in magnificent designer fashions and fabulous jewels.  We’ve seen the horsey set in their casual attire – tweeds and cashmere at their weekend retreats in the country.  We know a lot about the white collar people and the blue collar folks but not so much about tech chic.  They might be called the no-collar people because so many of the denizens of Silicon Valley wear t-shirts emblazoned with the logos of their own start up companies.  In summer months they trend toward flip flops, t-shirts and jeans.  Everyone drives a Prius and keeps a bike at the office.  There might be a Ferrari  in the garage but it is rarely if ever used.

One of the young tech moguls, Brady has agreed to show me around.  He is probably 30 and has just bought himself a pretty Spanish style house on Fulton Street in Palo Alto.  Despite the fact that he is worth several million dollars he, like Mark Zuckerberg continued living in a small cramped apartment because he could never spare the time to shop around for a house.  The older tech giants tend to live in nearby gated compounds in Woodside or Atherton. The work schedule is a killer 55 to 60 hours a week. People get started in the late mornings – around 11 – and they work late touching base with colleagues around the world.  I ask Brady what they do for fun, when do they take a break.  Turns out they might plan a group hike for a Saturday or Sunday.  Ten or more meet at a central location and hike several miles away for lunch at their favorite hamburger stand and hike back.  Once in a while they’ll use their bikes.  They’re into fitness but don’t have time for traditional sports like golf.  If you play golf, living and working in this valley is definitely not for you.  Some of the fitness centers in town offer a 30-minute workout tailored to the needs of the locals.

They don’t spend lots of time on shopping or fancy socializing – a quick trip to Fry’s or Trader Joe’s fits their needs.  Their only  indulgence is dining out on a summer’s evening.  The dress code still casual -- polo shirt, khakis and blazer.  They seem to enjoy a glass of cabernet before dinner at their favorite restaurant, the Madera at the Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel.  This is the high point of their work week.  I ask Brady if he or his pals ever go on vacation.  He pauses to think.  No, he hasn’t taken a vacation since he graduated from Stanford over a decade ago.  He suddenly smiles and blurts out a plan he has.  If he can pull it off,  if his IPO goes as planned in the spring of 2014 he’ll be heading for the big tech convention in Maui – finally!  He raises his glass in a toast, “Here Today, Gone to Maui.”  They refer to the Grand Wailea in Maui as Silicon West. 

I ask Brady about all the recent disasters -- the rollout of the Affordable Healthcare website and the Mayor Bloomberg CityTime contract to simplify New York City's payroll which ended up costing about 700 million.  Brady insisted that the New York people were tenacious about getting their money back on software that was unacceptable.  They recouped 500 million.  The ACA site, he claims, should have been created in-house.  He explains that when you have a single capital customer like Obamacare the software that's the general rule.  He has his doubts whether it can be repaired to a satisfactory level.

 It’s a strange place, Silicon Valley -- work comes first, last and always.  There is an undeniable connectivity between the people who live and work there.  The concentration of brain power and wealth is overwhelming but the population is thriving.  There is nothing they cannot do.