“ABC helped me discover the Silicon Valley mindset through real experiences, inspiring people, and hands-on learning.”
Can you introduce yourself? Tell us your name, where you’re from, and a bit about your background.
My name is Fabian, I’m 23 years old, and I’m German-Peruvian. I grew up in Berlin, where I finished school at a bilingual institution. After that, I traveled a bit, did a voluntary year, and then decided to study Human Factors and Sports Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Vienna. I recently completed my internship and am currently working on my bachelor’s thesis.
What attracted you to join the ABC Silicon Valley program?
I actually found out about ABC through an email my university sent. At the time, I was taking extra classes in finance and economics, and the program sounded like a great way to explore that side further. So, it was a spontaneous but good decision — I just thought, why not give it a try?
You’ve participated in exchanges in Spain, Argentina, and Peru. How does the ABC experience compare?
My favorite thing about ABC Silicon Valley is definitely the networking. I’ve joined several exchange programs before, but the people there were never as open-minded as here. That’s what really stands out — the diversity, the mindset, and the inspiring conversations. I also really enjoy the company visits; they give you a real sense of what the Silicon Valley spirit is like.
You participated in the first edition of the ABC Business Plan Competition. What motivated you to take part, and how challenging was it?
When I read the email about ABC, I was actually in Berlin doing my internship. The first challenge was finding a teammate, since you have to apply in pairs. I reached out to my friend Iliad, who was doing his internship in another city, and before that, he’d been in France on Erasmus while I was in Spain — so we hadn’t seen each other for about a year!
Coordinating online meetings while both working on internships and my bachelor’s thesis was tricky, but we managed. At first, we joined just for fun, but once we started developing our idea, we really got into it and kept going. That made the whole experience even more rewarding.
