Photysyntheis and quantum coherence

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/02/quantum-photosynthesis/

 

Does this mean than every blade of grass out there is a quantum computer? Probably.  It also means that biomimicry, and understanding how nature has already solved many of the challenges we're trying to face is more important than we've been giving it credit for.  If you've had the age of the universe to try and solve puzzles, what you're left with might not be perfect, but it at least works, and has been throught a lot of testing.  The biggest problem humans seem to have is the mutiple repurposing of chemicals/compounds, and building upon building.  No one gene seems to do only one thing.  A compound might seem to primarily cause an effect, but there are secondary scenarios that happen with every disruption to the system.

VC can't hide any more

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/dot-com-crash-catch-up-with-venture-capitalists/?pagemode=print&scp=3&sq=venture%20capital&st=Search

 

so the numbers that were propping up great returns are now out of the 10 year timeframe. And while returns for the industry are OK at 8%, this includes Google, and quite a few deals that skew the numbers.  And if you weren't in one of those funds that made those huge home runs, you're probably not looking at an 8% IRR.

 

I'll disagree with Heesen, that it didn't 10 years to fully realize what happened, and clear the impact.  We've been seeing the impact with funds that were raised during that time, not able to raise another fund.  Partners who won't be running a fund in the next decade.  While it is "easy" to double a $25 mil fund, to $50 mil.  trying to double a $1 bil fund to $2 bil is impossible.

 

Silcon valley will still be a huge influence in the returns and the type of investments that will be made in the coming years.  But the lock that used to exist of innovation and investment within the USA may have been lost.

 

The numbers were bad, they're gonig to stay low for a while, but in the end, even VC has a role to play in the economy.

MIT Enteprise Forum of Washington DC and Baltimore Gala 2010

Date:	Thursday, February 18, 2010
Time:	6:00pm - 9:00pm
Location:	Canadian Embassy 501 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC

Description

Drinks, Entrepreneurs and the Host Country of the Winter Olympics!

This year's theme is"Growing Opportunity for Technology Entrepreneurship in Domestic & Emerging Markets: The Role of Innovation in Economic Development". Featuring Phil Auerswald and Jean-Rene' Halde. Phil Auerswald is a professor, author, tech policy expert and co-editor of Innovations: Technology | Governance | Globalization, a quarterly journal from MIT Press about people using technology to address global challenges. Jean-Rene' Halde is the President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). BDC is one of the most important players in Canada's innovation ecosystem; it is one of the largest venture capital investors in Canada, with 115 companies in its portfolio and investments in 20 funds.

There is FREE PARKING in the Embassy garage. Tickets must be bought in advance due to Embassy security online at http://www.mitef.org/content.aspx?page_id=87&club_id=582681&item_id=98791

NYTimes: Sites to Refuel Electric Cars Gain a Big Dose of Funds

From The New York Times:

Sites to Refuel Electric Cars Gain a Big Dose of Funds

The infusion of cash is a vote of confidence for Better Place, the
closely watched start-up that hopes to create vast networks of charge
spots for electric vehicles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/business/energy-environment/25electric.html

Better Place has taken on a big role in the industry. I appreciate
the analysis they've done on where to locate the initial sites which
countries are most receptive to electric vehicles.

The key weakness I still see is having a big enough fleet set up from
day one. I still say that a postoffice or taxi fleet would be the best
way to get to scale quickly.

But each report I read focuses on the consumer market. It doesn't mean
that they can't or won't shift focus in the coming years. But until or
unless I start to see the address the entire transportation situation,
I have the fear that they've fallen in love with the one vision and
have no room for flexibility.

Electric Cars are supposed to come

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/01/market-share-electric-plug-in-hybrids/

I'm not always in agreement with these reports.  I'll have to look closer at these stories, but from my perspective, the battery challenge is probably solved.  Not with Lithium ion or lithium air, or ni-cad, but with lead acid batteries. These are still focused on the consumer market, and still looking at redherrings.  Economies of scale will not be achieved with consumer based sales.  Not until there are straight forward recharge systems available.  Work/Home/etc. location need to have recharge points. 

I'm still crazy enough to believe in a virtual taxi fleet.  But this is not an incremental change scenario.  This is something that goes all at once in areas.  This along with automatic driving systems will create huge fleet capabilities.

US Post office to test electric vehicle

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/01/ac-propulsion-mail-truck/

 

I've said for a while that it will not be the end consumer who decides when we switch to electric vehicles. It would be Fed Ex,  UPS, Postoffice or Walmart.  Someone who can use a fleet of vehicles.  Someone who can guarantee that a large enough volume of electric vehichles will be purchased to make it worth for a company to dedicate the efforts. 

 

Having a fleet of vehicles, and a team at the depot who can maintain the electric trucks, and make sure that the batteries are charged, the tires are at full pressure, etc. makes a huge difference.  The trucks also have set established routes, so with a good management system, you're able to keep track of how many miles and where each truck goes.  make sure the range is kept.  And because it is in a truck body, the weight of the batteries can be higher, and the trucks can go further.

 

Tesla's race car won't be the vehicle that takes us to an electric vehicle scenario.  This truck is going to be the type of car to drive us over the line.

Went to Sisarina officewarming party

It was a nice event. I had the MAVA event to attend later in the
evening. But it is always fun to network with the startups in the
neighborhood. O had a chance to talk with the founder, and understand
why she wanted to strike out on her own. I knew one of the employees,
Amanda, from her time at Calvert.

Each startup has its own flavor. And every company's flavor is
determined by the mix of talent and people in the shop.

MAVA kickoff party

It was great to see some old friends at the MAVA kickoff party tonight
at union station in DC. The crowd was a little more sparse than
before. But that is an accurate reflection of the current environment.

The law firms were out in full force. And a few investor types were
in the audience. But at the end of the day, it is all dependant on
how much money we all return to our investors.

Asian companies doing VC investments

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/technology/personaltech/06valley.html?hpw

 

I did not consider the re-emergence of corporate venture capital activity.  We had seen it at the beginning of this century, and the results had been mixed.  However, it did have some success stories, and these asian companies do have capital to deploy.  For some shops, it is an outsourced R&D effort.  For the entrepreneur, all money is green at some point.  If you need to pay the bills, you pay the bills.  And deal with the investment consequences at another time.

 

Innovation and sales are the two core elements of any company.  Anything else, can and should be outsourced.  But as you start focusing, remember that there are going to be competitors looking to get the same margins you enjoy.