Legendary Venture Capitalist Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, investor in Skype and Hotmail, not only captured the audience at USASBE ‘09 with his cutting-edge insight into the future of venture capital funding and technology, but somehow inspired 400 academias to clap enthusiastically to the beat of entrepreneurship.
Before I cover his entertaining musical interlude, here are several insights from his speech that caught my attention:
- “Entrepreneurs are heroes. Right now, we NEED heroes.”
- “After every bubble burst, there was a spike in innovation. Be ready for it.”
- “In 1423, if you were in Salem, MA, facing a wall and talking to yourself, you’d be burned at the stake. If you were at UC Berkeley in 1970, facing a wall and talking to yourself, you’d be considered stoned. Nowadays, if you are facing a wall and talking to yourself, you’re probably on your cell phone.”
AND, this is where you should start paying attention! The future, according to Draper:
- Abundantly cheap water
- Non-invasive health devices
- Net zero energy homes
- Reigniting batteries
- Piloted electric cars
- Online education for the masses
- All computing from the cloud
- 3D on demand for entertainment
- Storable instant fresh meals (something, he said, he is greatly looking forward to :))
- Genetic disease prediction
- Cure for Cancer, AIDs, & Malaria
- 5cents/KWH electric fuel
- New life forms
- Cure for heart disease
After business is taken care of, Draper loosens up… and busts out the musical notes! It sure is refreshing to see such a well-respected and highly-regarded business leader poking fun at himself.
C’mon, guys, sing along! “He isss the rissskmmassstterrrr…..”