I agree that two people can have vastly different takeaways from an event like this, but don't see anything wrong with that. Different people have different backgrounds and different things they wanted to learn going in.
Thank You. Upvoted (both here and on quora) That was a very interesting bunch of takeaways. I found them more interesting than the ones in the OP.
I wasn't there so I'm probably imagining things, but I'm getting the vibe that the VC/investor types were giving canned pop psychology 'MBA'/management consulting type advice like advice, where the hacker/founder folks sound more original (and useful).
That lucky office you mentioned apparently casts it's glow on its surroundings as well. La Boulange opened a new cafe next door, and 1-2 weeks later announced that Starbucks had bought out the entire bakery chain for $100 million. (I'm sure they had already struck the deal, but the lucky locale makes for a better story!)
http://www.quora.com/Startup-School/What-were-the-key-takeaw...
I agree that two people can have vastly different takeaways from an event like this, but don't see anything wrong with that. Different people have different backgrounds and different things they wanted to learn going in.