International language of start-ups

Participants in the U.S. State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative listen as Rick Bahr, vice president of engineering at Atheros Communications, explains the type of chips the company makes during a session Friday on the company's campus in Santa Clara, Calif. The university students are visiting from the Middle East and North Africa.

Students laugh during a session at Atheros about building an idea into a successful business. In the middle row, from the left, are Mayas from Syria, Oday, from Palestine, and Sabrine, from Egypt. Students didn't give last names for security purposes.

Rick Bahr of Atheros tells students about the history of his company, from its beginnings at Stanford University in neighboring Palo Alto, Calif., to the present.