Day 9: Bangalore

One of the perks of meeting with a food company is that you get fed well. Such was the case on the morning of day nine and our meeting with S. Maiya of MTR foods. We enjoyed a traditional breakfast of masala dosa in small intimate dining rooms above the kitchens. This was great... and would have been greater had our host stay families not all been doing their best just an hour earlier to stuff us completely full of the very same types of foods... probably bought from MTR's packaged food line!

Breakfast at MTR Foods

The afternoon saw us over to a panel of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs who shared with us a variety of perspectives on the Indian business environment. They discussed issues like finding talent, whether being an Indian or having an Indian on board is critical (they believe it is), and where they see the next big opportunities. They, just like everyone else, are sure that India will continue to remain an exciting place for business.

Bangalore Venture Capatalists

We had a few hours to kill before dinner. We were all keen to experience a genuine Indian cultural experience. So we decided to go ten-pin bowling! Again, a little embarrassing to admit, but this was ridiculously good fun. Of course, the fun might have been aided by a few specially prepared drinks... aided our fun but most certainly impacted our scores in a rather downward fashion!

Dinner was also awesome. We sat outside, cross-legged on cushions at a modern restaurant called Opus. There was Karaoke so of course the Stanford GSB had to represent. Jason gave a powerful rendition of ‘Sweet Child of Mine’, while Paul and his girlfriend Amanda sang ‘Sexual Healing’. I was personally very disappointed that virtually no one on the Study Trip had heard of Robbie Williams! Seriously, do we need a study trip to England next year to educate people about British teen-pop culture?!

"Robbie who?"

The evening continued getting better as we moved on to a plush hotel to party with the MBA students of Columbia Business School on their India Study Trip. We were excellent ambassadors for the GSB and had a great time mingling with these fine folks from New York.