Week 4 EOC Silicon Valley Valley Episode 4

It was a rough episode of Silicon Valley for Pied Piper. Not only was Richard not able to explain their business plan to anyone even Peter Gregory’s nonchalant lawyer, the other programming engineers couldn’t either. The party that they went to was a missed opportunity to network. “An exceptional network of wise and educated mentors can make all the difference, especially to a young entrepreneur with less experience.” (114) They could not even identify what the goal was for the company or anything even remotely close to what future they see for Pied Piper. I know a few introverted computer nerds and I find it hard to believe any of them can’t carry a conversation like the dorks the main characters are made out to be. “Words can communicate biases that can interfere with your message, alienate your audience, and call your own character into question.” (80) Then Richard drunkenly agrees to have Erlich as a board member. Later on, Jared and Richard were writing an executive summary of Pied Piper without knowing the proper and full details of the business plan that would be needed to write a summary. “A business plan does provide an invaluable way to keep you and your team focused on success.” (121) Richard and Jared go to meet with Peter Gregory once again to explain what the company is, but Richard freaks out beforehand in the bathroom. Jared helps him get through it -- and even switches pants with him -- but ultimately Richard goes to the meeting with Erlich at his side. Erlich really wows Peter Gregory, and Richard adds Erlich back to Pied Piper’s board. That is where Richard finally went in the right direction. Erlich’s elevator introduction brought Pied Piper to a place where they could finally qualify what their business is.