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There's a pretty clear realm in which tech VC has been successful over the past couple decades: utilizing large digital networks (which is the new object that S
by kolbe 9y ago
There's a pretty clear realm in which tech VC has been successful over the past couple decades: utilizing large digital networks (which is the new object that SV understands how to work with) to either improve existing businesses (reservation booking, media viewing) or create new ones (social networks, ride sharing). And when they do break out of that mold, it's with very experienced entrepreneurs that have a thorough understanding of what the industry is, and how it can be improved.
The model of hurling "20 year old dropouts" at industries with well-established practices like medicine is a bad model. That doesn't mean that there isn't room for very knowledgeable and experienced entrepreneurs to disrupt medicine, but it'll probably be thanks to someone with two PhDs, an MD, and a decade of research experience. It's not the same thing as some kids molding a new industry from scratch with few prior entrants (e.g. Gates/Jobs/Zuck).
- jedberg 9y agoIn this particular case, they are applying a very digital solution (machine learning and vision processing) to an old industry (medicine). So it makes a lot of sense. And also, there are plenty of cases in the past of 20-somethings disrupting established industries. Einstein developed his first disruptive theories in his 20s, for example.
- mikeash 9y agoEinstein was already highly knowledgeable in physics and part of the broader physics community, though. Certainly young people can disrupt established industries, but young outsiders doing so with little knowledge of the industry in question is a lot less common.