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Palo Alto 33

The Origin of Palo Alto 33

"Where Tesla meets Stanford"

Where Tesla meets Stanford

One of the guiding principles of Palo Alto 33, is the power of AND, the interaction between theory and practice, between discipline and creativity, to establish a strategy and an action plan. We strongly believe that the great management thinkers of our time have provided unique insights and paradigms that give us a much clearer idea of how to run a business. Michael Porter, Jim Collins, Clayton Christensen, .. to name a few, have used case studies to establish theoretical principles that are valid in every economic environment. But a theory cannot explain everything. We therefore believe that the people in het companies itself, the leaders and the workforce are crucial in establishing a strategy of the future. Every company, every sector, every country has specific factors that cannot explained by theory. And in every sector you have great managers and practitioners that propel the future of the corporate world. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Harry Schultz, come to mind but there a lot of champions in Belgium and the Netherlands that have created worldclass companies where we can learn from like Mark Coucke, Alan Coumont, …

So why Palo Alto 33 then ?

Well. Imagine a city that has (one of) the best universities in the world and imagine a city which is home to many of the most admired companies in the world. A place where great academic people mingle with the greatest entrepreneurs of our era. Welcome to Palo Alto.

Palo Alto

The city is a really small village not bigger than Aalst in Belgium or Leiden in the Netherlands. Its main street consists of a string of coffee bars where your entrepreneurs, engineers, marketeers and venture capitalists sip their coffee and think about a greater future for our world Palo Alto is a place of unbridled enthusiasm where everything is possible.

So Why 33 then ?

The Redwood Tree is a symbol for the region. It is the trademark of many companies there. The University of Stanford has this beautiful tree which adorns its logo. In the center of Palo Alto you will find one of the oldest and biggest redwood trees which has become a hallmark of the city : a 33 meter tall sequoia. This tree is part of the logo of Palo Alto 33.

Palo Alto Redwood Tree