When he was dreaming up the smart thermostat company Nest in 2009, he wasn’t in Silicon Valley at all, but Paris. “Nest would never have happened if I didn’t get out of the echo chamber of Silicon Valley,” he says. He’s not alone in keeping a foot in the world of French startups. When asked if he speaks French, Fadell responds thusly: "Quand je travaille avec des entrepreneurs français, je n'ai pas de problème à ne pas savoir le français couramment." He also got burned in Silicon Valley - twice.

Source: Forbes May 09, 2018 09:00 UTC