Idea Machines Bubbly Innovation with Bill Janeway [Idea Machines #20]
In this episode I talk to Bill Janeway about previous eras of venture capital and startups, how bubbles drive innovation, the role of government in innovation. Bill describes himself as "theorist-practitioner": he did a PhD in Economics, was a successful venture capitalist in the 80's and 90's with the firm Warburg Pincus and is now an affiliated faculty member at Cambridge and the member of several boards.
Key Takeaways
-
Bubbles have arguably been the key enabler of infrastructure-heavy technology.
-
Venture capital may be structurally set up to only be useful for computing and biotech.
-
Most technology that venture capital invested in was subsidized at first by the government in one way or another.
Resources
Doing Capitalism in the Innovation Economy