The 48th Bootcamp has just wrapped up, with Oscar Hartmann joining as a special guest. From April 5 to 11, participants immersed themselves in the mindset and practices of top Silicon Valley founders — gaining insights to apply directly to their own projects.
In this article, SFIH founder Ruslan Gafarov shares a behind-the-scenes look at the Bootcamp experience and reflects on working with an accomplished entrepreneur who not only contributed to the program, but became an active part of it.
Preface
A few months ago, we received a message from Lyubov from the U-Space team. She suggested organizing a joint program with Oscar Hartmann. We already knew Oscar — we had crossed paths at various events, most recently at Megacampus.
We loved the idea, and in early April, Oscar came to join us. Interestingly, we hadn’t discussed the camp format in advance. At SFIH, we have our own approach to creating a transformative experience — one that turns each participant into a valuable part of the community.
We knew Oscar had extensive experience working with entrepreneurs and often runs programs himself. So on the first day, I asked him directly:
“How do you see our collaboration and your role in the format?”
He replied:
“This time, I want to be a participant. I’ll help if needed, but I trust you — do what you believe is right.”
That moment gave me a real sense of trust and support — and the clarity to offer participants the best experience possible.
Day 1
We kicked off the first day by getting to know each other. When a room is full of strong, accomplished entrepreneurs, the atmosphere can feel a bit tense at first. The goal was to create space for deep, meaningful introductions. We used a few exercises to help participants present themselves — and, thanks to Oscar’s suggestions, we took those self-introductions to a whole new level. That proved incredibly useful later, when everyone began connecting with some of the most interesting people in the Valley.
After that, Oscar Hartmann gave a talk on the topic of “unicorns.” Having invested in over 150 companies — from billion-dollar giants to startups that didn’t make it — he shared valuable insights on emerging trends shaping the future: cybersecurity, healthcare, longevity, energy, and more.
We then moved into a more interactive part of the day — a simulated investment committee. Each participant chose a startup they’d “like to invest in,” delivered a pitch, and received feedback. Our team ended up taking second place. But more importantly, it was a hands-on experience that gave everyone a better understanding of how venture capital really works.
We wrapped up the day with dinner at a cozy Italian restaurant — a full and vibrant start to the week.
Day 2
Day two began at Stanford. Our first speaker was James Terranova — a lecturer from a course I personally took at Stanford. He spoke about the risks venture investors take when choosing which startups to back. We had a chance to ask questions, and then welcomed Andrew Gri, who shared the story of his startup, HyperC, and how it’s working to shape the future.
After the session with Andrew, we headed to lunch at the Stanford cafeteria, followed by a walk through the campus — taking in the energy of the place.
The day wrapped up with a visit to David Yang. Together with Oscar, we recorded a podcast with him, where David talked about his home, his projects, and his unique approach to business.
It left a lasting impression on everyone.
Day 3
We began day three in Berkeley, where we met with a professor who gave us a tour of the campus and shared insights into how the university’s innovation ecosystem works.
From there, we headed to Circuit Launch, where we met its founder, Alex. We talked about a future where robots and AI take over more and more human tasks. It’s already happening — they build cars, clean streets, assist in households. According to forecasts, machines may soon outnumber humans on the planet.
Alex shared stories of startups that launched from his hardware co-working space. Some of those companies are now valued in the hundreds of millions — even billions.
After that, we were joined by our friend and founder of a startup we invested in and now advise — Alex Ivanenko. He spoke about selling his first company for $100 million. And just a year later, without waiting for the final $7 million payout, he launched a new one.
His startup focuses on storing renewable energy — from solar, wind, and other sources — in hydrogen. This allows energy to be preserved even when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing, and then converted back into electricity when needed. Today, a huge portion of renewable energy is simply lost during peak production — “sent into the ground,” as Alex put it. His approach offers a more efficient and sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries.
We also discussed the future of remote power stations — capable of supplying electricity to electric vehicles, robots, and even Arctic research bases without being connected to the grid. With energy demand set to multiply in the coming years, finding clean and scalable solutions is critical. If we don’t, the planet may not be able to keep up.
Next, our friend and partner Nick Oreshkin spoke. He manages the assets of the owner of Versace, as well as the founders of eBay, Skype, and LinkedIn. His track record includes growing investments by several multiples in just a few years.
Nick shared four trends related to women in business and offered his thoughts on AI and the shifting priorities in today’s market.
After Nick, we met an engineer from OpenAI, who gave us a live demo. Using just Cursor and ChatGPT, he created a Tinder-like interface from scratch — all with simple text commands. That was the moment I realized: the future is already here.
Through his talk, I better understood OpenAI’s core mission — to build a general-purpose AI that can solve virtually any task. In the near future, this could replace entire startup ecosystems. If I want to redesign my room, I won’t need a separate app — I’ll just prompt the AI.
The same applies to building a personal coach, a tutor, an assistant — all it takes is a well-articulated request.
One key insight stayed with me: one of the most important skills of the future is being able to clearly formulate goals and translate them into a language AI can understand. Not just to ask for what you want — but to explain what’s missing in the result, and how to refine it.
In many ways, each of us will be building a personalized AI interface — tailored to our lifestyle and needs. A system that replaces dozens of apps and tools, and becomes our gateway into the future.
If you’re curious about this topic — I’d be happy to explore it further. Feel free to ask questions.
Day 4
We started the fourth day at Microsoft, where our friend Silvio, an Italian immigrant, led a design thinking workshop. I’ve been studying design thinking for many years, but what makes Silvio unique is how he integrates AI-based copilots into the process. Together, we had a great time experimenting with how AI can be used to creatively solve different challenges.
After the workshop, we met with Lana, who gave a talk about Microsoft’s corporate culture. She teaches at several universities and works at Microsoft’s headquarters in Seattle — and had flown in specifically to meet with our group.
We had lunch at the Microsoft campus, and I have to say — the food was some of the best we’ve had. It felt like a mini gastro-tour through top tech companies. Through the layout of the conference rooms, cafeterias, and even the food quality, we got to experience corporate culture in a very tangible way.
Next, we headed to meet Alex Mashrabov, who raised $16M in a seed round for his AI startup that generates high-quality video content from text prompts. He walked us through the process, the intense competition in this space, and the emerging trends. After that conversation, it became clear: AI will likely replace humans entirely in content creation in the near future.
Later, we met with Nick Davydov for a live podcast session. Oscar led the interview and asked Nick about his venture fund DVC and his perspective on the current AI landscape. Nick shared how he became one of the early investors in Perplexity, and how his involvement went beyond capital — he brought in key talent, which strengthened his relationship with the founders. That closeness helps him stay attuned to what’s happening and makes it easier to gain access to other promising deals. After the talk, participants had a chance to ask questions and connect with both Nick and Oscar personally.
We wrapped up the day with a session from Oscar Hartmann, where he shared his personal productivity system. For many years, Oscar has used David Allen’s GTD method to manage his tasks and attention. I told him that I’m personally acquainted with David Allen and have also been using GTD for over a decade.
Oscar struck me as a highly focused, driven, and intentional person — someone who brings deep meaning into everything he does.
Day 5
We began the fifth day at Google, where we explored the campus and learned more about the infrastructure the company provides for its employees. After our session in one of the meeting rooms, it became clear that Google is quickly catching up with — and in some areas, surpassing — OpenAI in the AI race. Many of the startups we know are increasingly relying on Google’s models to power their tech.
We also talked about the company’s culture, and — continuing our “gastro-tour” through tech giants — stopped by the cafeteria to enjoy a meal and get a sense of the environment, comparing it to what we’d experienced at other companies.
Next, we visited Meta, where we also walked through the campus and talked with team members about how goals are set and achieved inside the company. We also dove into Meta’s internal culture. This session was led by a current Meta employee who previously worked at a startup connected to Nick Davydov. He brought valuable insights from both the corporate and startup worlds.
From Meta, we headed to Intel, where we were given a private tour.
One of Intel’s former senior executives, who spent 27 years at the company, spoke with us. He shared stories about working on the original Pentium processors, which brought back a wave of nostalgia — I remembered using those products myself. He outlined the factors behind Intel’s rise to dominance, and also what led to its current challenges.
At one point, Intel was one of the most valuable and innovative companies in the world, largely due to its chip production for Silicon Valley. A major part of its success stemmed from its corporate culture. The company was originally formed by a group of engineers who left a toxic manager — someone brilliant, but lacking leadership skills. That breakaway team founded what would later become Intel, building it on values that promoted innovation and autonomy.
Intel pioneered a horizontal org structure, where engineers felt valued and had access to growth resources. Managers acted not as bosses, but as coaches, helping engineers build their careers. Intel also became the originator of the OKR goal-setting method, which would later be adopted across Silicon Valley by Google, Meta, Netflix, and others.
In many ways, Intel’s greatest legacy is not just its technology, but the culture it created — a culture that helped attract top talent and enabled radical innovation.
After the Intel visit, we drove out to Sean’s winery — a person I’ve mentioned before. Sean started as an engineer in the ’90s, became a successful entrepreneur, launched and sold several startups, and eventually became an investor and winery owner — a classic Silicon Valley story.
They say every engineer dreams of launching a startup, every startup founder dreams of becoming an investor, and every investor dreams of owning a vineyard — a place to host friends and solve big problems over a glass of wine. Sean’s winery is located in San Jose, just 20 minutes from downtown — right in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Day 6
We started the morning at Uber, where we talked with the team about the company’s internal culture.
During our conversation, we learned that Uber is now working on a new service that helps label data for artificial intelligence. It operates much like Uber itself: on one side, companies provide raw data that needs to be labeled, and on the other — people working remotely annotate this data using their computers. For example, they process footage from vehicle-mounted cameras, tagging objects like traffic lights, pedestrians, dogs, and more — all to improve the accuracy of AI object recognition.
After visiting Uber, we headed to Plug and Play, where we discussed their business model — something I’ve talked about before. After lunch, we met up with Dima, who shared updates on his new startup. He has been accepted into iCabinet for the second time, has already raised funding, and is building a product that helps nurses and healthcare providers manage medical documentation using AI.
In the U.S., maintaining accurate medical records and contracts is legally critical, and Dima’s solution helps reduce errors and ensures compliance with healthcare regulations.
Next, we visited the Computer History Museum, where we were greeted by one of Silicon Valley’s veterans. We explored the evolution of computing — from the days when solving what we now do on a calculator required multi-story buildings filled with massive machines and complex data systems.
There, we met our friend Mark, who once worked with Steve Jobs and led iTunes operations. He witnessed the launch of the iPhone and was responsible for Apple’s cloud services. Mark was one of the early pioneers at the intersection of technology and entertainment. It was he, together with Jobs, who brought music artists together under the iTunes platform.
Afterward, we visited Steve Jobs’ garage — the very place where Apple began. This is where the first Apple computer was assembled, which we had just seen earlier at the museum.
We wrapped up the day — and our journey — at the Apple Park Visitor Center, where we took in the view of the iconic headquarters of one of the world’s most valuable companies — and, of course, picked up some merch.
Day 7-8
We spent our last day in a different way — stepping away from the usual tech routine. We started with a tour around San Francisco, where we listened to the story of the city, and then headed out to Napa Valley, where we visited several wineries.
During this part of the trip, we had the chance to connect more deeply with the participants who had joined us, reflecting on our time in Silicon Valley — all over a glass of wine in a relaxed and beautiful setting.
The next day, for those who still had time before flying out, we offered a trip to Monterey. There, on one of the coastal trails, we rode bikes — a place I often visit with my family. It was the perfect way to wrap up an intense and inspiring journey.
Just the Beginning
The program doesn’t end with the final session — in fact, that’s where everything truly begins.
We stay close: helping participants find partners, build relationships with investors, and open new horizons.
Many of our alumni continue their journey in Silicon Valley — launching their own companies, becoming part of a vibrant community, and building what they once only dreamed of.
Silicon Valley isn’t just a place.
It’s an environment where more is possible.
And our mission is to support those who want to be part of this movement — and find their own source of inspiration within it.
