From Stanford Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders, a lecture by Mohr Davidow Ventures partner, Erik Straser, on innovation in Clean Tech:

…As you’re thinking about what you’re going do, the no. 1 thing I would advise you is how to find a long wave. Some immutable trend that is gonna permeate most of the 10 years of your career, the next 15-30 years! If you sat down and thought “what are the big long waves during my lifetime?”, jumping on them as a professional will probably be one of the smartest things you ever did. Because if you did nothing, but jump in the computer-business in the late 70s, early 80s, maybe even up to the Microsoft IPO, you had a phenomenal run, 20-something years where you had a very high chance of achieving a higher position, more material income, and just being in a better place, then if you’d chose, for example, Detroit.

So you got to think what wave you’re on and how you get on the wave that makes sense for you both from an interest perspective, a geography perspective, what you want to do with your life. […] Its easiest to see [these waves] right here on campus (note: talking about Stanford School of Engineering). […] Research universities are the start of the waves.

The no. 1 thing you can do is figure out what wave are you riding, and make sure you’re not on a wave that’s going down.

He identifies three streams, according to what’s going on at Stanford: IT, which is a mature wave, biotech, and clean tech. It puts a lot of things in perspective for me, regarding all the companies, projects, and my own business ideas that I come across on a daily basis.

Focus on things that are going up, not going down! And focus on your fit with them!

Thanks to vodpod, you should be able to watch that whole scene here (if not: here).

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.747763&w=425&h=350&fv=]

Vincent

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