DARPA to ARPA-E
Mon, 06/30/2008 - 05:33 — jpark (not verified)
DARPA has been a success story for the US government. Money was spent on "crazy" ideas that had no real goal in mind. What I did not appreciate was that folks at DARPA have an end-date. 6 year contracts, that's it.
Take people out of industry, during their prime, and let them loose. It's a crazy idea, but one that works.
The idea of taking the same concept and using it to develop energy answers was the basis of a hearing on last Thursday. Matthew Trevithick spoke on behalf of the VC community. I agreed with somethings he said, other statements were a bit out of whack.
Why does the DC community not have as robust a start-up environment as Boston or Silicon valley? Or how someone could copy the Valley into another country, or copy the DARPA approach in other departments.
The support that's needed, and the local community, and employee attitude are critical to success. In DC, the smart folks (and not so smart) can get good pay for low risk in several areas. There aren't as many technology companies focused on the general consumer. But if you want to start a beltway bandit company, there are a huge number of places around here, and a huge number of comanies doing exactly that.
Each region can determine their own niche. But recognize that you're going to be competing on a global scale, not just your city/state.
Take people out of industry, during their prime, and let them loose. It's a crazy idea, but one that works.
The idea of taking the same concept and using it to develop energy answers was the basis of a hearing on last Thursday. Matthew Trevithick spoke on behalf of the VC community. I agreed with somethings he said, other statements were a bit out of whack.
Why does the DC community not have as robust a start-up environment as Boston or Silicon valley? Or how someone could copy the Valley into another country, or copy the DARPA approach in other departments.
The support that's needed, and the local community, and employee attitude are critical to success. In DC, the smart folks (and not so smart) can get good pay for low risk in several areas. There aren't as many technology companies focused on the general consumer. But if you want to start a beltway bandit company, there are a huge number of places around here, and a huge number of comanies doing exactly that.
Each region can determine their own niche. But recognize that you're going to be competing on a global scale, not just your city/state.
- jpark's blog
- Login or register to post comments
Copyright 2010
Jean-Luc Park
All rights reserved