Lessons from the Valley

In January, co-founders Louay Kadri and Walid Singer of Lebanese online crowd ticketing platform Presella went to Silicon Valley as the first batch of startups that took part in the Progress In Technology Middle East (PITME)’s month-long acceleration program. The PITME program organizes a jam-packed schedule for entrepreneurs to meet with mentors in Silicon Valley and receive training in diverse areas of their business. The co-founders of Presella got a free ride to the acceleration program as the second place winners of the Startup Demo at ArabNet Riyadh 2013. Having been immersed in the Valley’s vibrant tech culture and notoriously fast-paced atmosphere, they got a taste of life in the mother of   all startup ecosystems. Here are three things they loved that they would like to see happen in Lebanon:   1.Speed networking: “Everyone in Silicon Valley is a connector,” says Kadri. The pair attended many events where everyone was