Silicon Valley TigerTrek

The Trip

The Silicon Valley TigerTrek is Princeton’s annual Fall Break trip that brings 20 of Princeton’s most exceptional engineers and aspiring entrepreneurs — selected from more than 220 applicants — to Silicon Valley for a week of visits with tech luminaries. Year after year, this trip transforms the ideas and career goals of students who go on the trip and of students back on campus.

The Experience

A week of Q&A’s with legendary founders and CEOs later, the students return excited to pursue alternative career paths — continuing the spirit of the Valley. Along the way, they meet mentors from the Princeton alumni community in the Bay Area. And back on campus, they spread the lessons and wisdom they’ve learned from being embedded in Silicon Valley with fellow students.

1 Week

In Silicon Valley

20 Princeton Students

Excelling in Tech and Entrepreneurship

25 Legendary Leaders

Who Have Disrupted the World

7 Years

Of Community and Legacy

Before The Trip

Applications for the trip open when the fall term begins in September. The TigerTrek team hosts info sessions in residential colleges to spread the word about the trip; over 250 applications applied for the 2016 TigerTrek.

Between selection and the trip itself, we ask the participants to join us for several events to meet others going on the trip and for some training — to make sure students go in with very good background knowledge about the speakers we are visiting and are prepared with insightful questions. We also pair students with a mentor in the Bay Area, who they will then meet during the trip itself.
During The Trip

Participants spend a week meeting with some of the most influential figures of the century. Students have behind-the-doors conversations with the founders of cutting edge startups, C-suite executives at influential tech giants, and partners at pioneering VC firms.

They learn from the stories and experiences of not only these influential figures, but from each other. Along the way, the Princeton students get a taste of the magic of Silicon Valley and the innovation that is intrinsic to its core.
After the Trip

Mentorship continues after the trip — and we hold meetups to help the TigerTrek group stay in touch as they apply the principles they've learned from the trip to their own lives.

We focus on spreading messages and insights from TigerTrek to the broader campus population. Many of the students on TigerTrek are involved in E-Club and other campus organizations, and they bring in speakers and host events fueled by what they've learned.