7 ms·

This begs the question, how did Tesla actually do it? Ultimately he was driven by the inventions themselves, not the business models. This was his genius and hi

by kepano 13y ago

This begs the question, how did Tesla actually do it? Ultimately he was driven by the inventions themselves, not the business models. This was his genius and his failure. Licensing the patents worked but it's also worth looking at Tesla's relationship with George Westinghouse who became a patron more than an investor. What's the avenue for a Nikola Tesla today?

ChuckMcM 13y ago
Are you suggesting he would look a lot like a patent troll today? Could be heretical talking there. Generally fundamental infrastructure improvements are very very hard for the individual contributor to capitalize on. Part of that is because there are usually alternatives for everything so its pre-commoditized and thus hard to extract value from, and partly because the legacy of 20th century was rent seeking businesses which polluted the waters for everyone.
- JoeAltmaier 13y ago
  Troll! That's preposterous. He INVENTED those things; he didn't buy up batches of vague patents and file frivolous suit. And his patents were detailed, precise, and often accompanied by a model.
SkyMarshal 13y ago
That video was a cariacature of bad VCs. A real Tesla of today should approach VCs like Thiel or Andreesen, if they're not already at DARPA or some other well-funded government blue sky R&D lab (or, say, inventing memristors at a corporate research division).
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
ricardobeat 13y ago
http://begthequestion.info/ http://begthequestion.info/
ImprovedSilence 13y ago
>> What's the avenue for a Nikola Tesla today? Not sure you want to end up like Tesla. He died broke and alone. I wouldn't try to emulate his avenue, only his genius... If such a thing is possible.
- precisioncoder 13y ago
  Are you serious? Tesla essentially gave away much of his works (or voluntarily chose to not enforce his copyright) because his work and the advancement of technology was more important to him than money. He chose to remain chaste (a virgin) also in order to further his work. There were many beautiful women desperately in love with him. If he wanted money or women he could have had them instantly at any time. Instead he chose to dedicate his life to his work, yes at times he was bitter but I would say he would be an excellent role model for a myriad of reasons.
- joeag 13y ago
  Maybe (eventually) crowdfunding, assuming it ever gets through the rulemaking process of the SEC. And it's not just the $1M from unaccredited investors, you can raise unlimited amounts of money from accredited investors, so the amount of capital you need wouldn't be a limiting factor. Given the numbers of investors who are looking for large returns, plus those that have an affinity for a particular technology, idea, or solution to a social problem, this could be big competition for VC's and maybe the only route to funding for some ideas/industries/technologies.
primitur 13y ago
The Elon Musk model, perhaps? Bootstrap by delivering to the people, repeat until Mars.

by kepano 13y ago

ChuckMcM 13y ago

Are you suggesting he would look a lot like a patent troll today? Could be heretical talking there. Generally fundamental infrastructure improvements are very very hard for the individual contributor to capitalize on. Part of that is because there are usually alternatives for everything so its pre-commoditized and thus hard to extract value from, and partly because the legacy of 20th century was rent seeking businesses which polluted the waters for everyone.

JoeAltmaier 13y ago
Troll! That's preposterous. He INVENTED those things; he didn't buy up batches of vague patents and file frivolous suit. And his patents were detailed, precise, and often accompanied by a model.

SkyMarshal 13y ago

That video was a cariacature of bad VCs. A real Tesla of today should approach VCs like Thiel or Andreesen, if they're not already at DARPA or some other well-funded government blue sky R&D lab (or, say, inventing memristors at a corporate research division).

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

ricardobeat 13y ago

http://begthequestion.info/ http://begthequestion.info/

ImprovedSilence 13y ago

>> What's the avenue for a Nikola Tesla today? Not sure you want to end up like Tesla. He died broke and alone. I wouldn't try to emulate his avenue, only his genius... If such a thing is possible.

precisioncoder 13y ago
Are you serious? Tesla essentially gave away much of his works (or voluntarily chose to not enforce his copyright) because his work and the advancement of technology was more important to him than money. He chose to remain chaste (a virgin) also in order to further his work. There were many beautiful women desperately in love with him. If he wanted money or women he could have had them instantly at any time. Instead he chose to dedicate his life to his work, yes at times he was bitter but I would say he would be an excellent role model for a myriad of reasons.
joeag 13y ago
Maybe (eventually) crowdfunding, assuming it ever gets through the rulemaking process of the SEC. And it's not just the $1M from unaccredited investors, you can raise unlimited amounts of money from accredited investors, so the amount of capital you need wouldn't be a limiting factor. Given the numbers of investors who are looking for large returns, plus those that have an affinity for a particular technology, idea, or solution to a social problem, this could be big competition for VC's and maybe the only route to funding for some ideas/industries/technologies.

primitur 13y ago

The Elon Musk model, perhaps? Bootstrap by delivering to the people, repeat until Mars.