It’s great that Xconomy is finally getting to Texas. Which is not to say that I’m rooting for Austin over “Baustin.” Innovation is not a zero-sum game. Or, as they say around these parts, we know you’re not from Texas, but we’re glad you’re here. On the other hand, I spent 10 years trying to … Continue reading “Xconomy, Welcome to Texas, Where Energy Will Be Solved!”
Author: Bob Metcalfe
Bob Metcalfe is Professor of Innovation and Murchison Fellow of Free Enterprise in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He was an Internet pioneer, starting at MIT and Harvard in 1970, and continuing into the 1990s in Silicon Valley. He invented Ethernet in 1973 at Xerox Parc and founded 3Com Corporation in 1979. In 2011, 1.2 billion new Ethernet ports were shipped -- 400 million wired and 800 million WiFi -- and 3Com, after peaking with $5.7B in revenue in 1999 and after 30 years of independent operation, became part of HP. In the 1990s, Bob was Publisher-CEO of InfoWorld and wrote an Internet column read weekly by half a million IT professionals. In the 2000s, Bob was General Partner of the venture capital firm Polaris Venture Partners near Boston. Professor Metcalfe now lives in Austin, Texas and aims to help make Austin a better Silicon Valley.
My Three Predictions for 2011
In 2011, the U.S. economy will come roaring back as our businesses and their customers gain confidence that the electorate has come to its senses and chosen not to grow governments but economies instead. In 2011, the last jihadist jerk will accidently blow himself up, at home without harming anyone else. In 2011, the progress … Continue reading “My Three Predictions for 2011”
Blue Is the New Green: Why Energy Entrepreneurs Need to Think Different
Many innovators lament that the time-honored VC model does not work for what they call “cleantech” or “greentech.” They raise as proof the capital intensivity and long timeframes for energy start-ups. I say they have it backwards. Energy will get solved when the energy ecology changes to fit the VC model, not vice versa. Take … Continue reading “Blue Is the New Green: Why Energy Entrepreneurs Need to Think Different”