VC = Virtuous Circle?
Is there a greater culture of entrepreneurialism in the US than there is in the UK? Some may see this as, at best, a cliche if not cultural stereotyping. Like many, though, I’ve always pretty much accepted it, but without really thinking about seeking out any hard evidence. But last week in Seattle has – for me – proven it beyond any doubt. It was a common theme throughout the week, (and more on this in blogs to follow).
Here’s one example of how this filters through at the high end of things. Screen WM, via Advantage WM, co-sponsored the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) Annual Predictions Dinner. Basically, a panel of industry heavyweights getting together to predict what the next 12 months had in store in the world of technology, (including digital and social media).
What struck me first of all was the fact that 4 out of 5 of the panel were VC’s or private investors. Now, I’ve been to dozens of digital/technology events and conferences across the UK this past year, many of which featured this kind of obligatory future-gazing, but I can’t recall seeing a single VC sitting on any panels at any event, let alone four of them on one panel. Here in the UK it’s all about the creators, not the financiers. Secondly, the first 20-30 minutes of the panel was largely spent discussing predictions of where share prices would go for the big tech companies – Google, Microsoft etc – and whether or not Twitter would get bought out and at what price. Not what cool new features Twitter might feature or new products or services were waiting round the corner. Perhaps more surprisingly, the panel actually made all of this sound extremely entertaining. (No .. really!).
The point here, I guess, is that investment and business growth – the entrepreneurial spirit – is front and centre of innovation in the US. Over here it can often seem like an afterthought – have the creative ideas first, talk about them, explore where you’d like to take them creatively and then maybe a bit further down the line consider how it might work as a business and the financial models behind it.
But the truth is that there must be a far more symbiotic relationship and a parallel development between creative ideas and business plans/finance. Smart money follows smart technology which follows smart money.
Anyone interested in watching a full video of the WTIA Predictions Panel can do so by clicking on the links below. It’s well worth sticking with. And don’t worry … it’s not all about stocks and shares.
Panellists :
- John Cook, Co-Founder/Executive Director TechFlash
- Kelly Smith, Founding Partner Curious Office
- Greg Gottesman, Managing Director Madrona Venture Group
- Glenn Kelman, CEO Redfin
- Bill Bryant, Venture Partner Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Andy Sack, Independent Software Entrepreneur and Investor
(This post was originally written by Jason Hall for Screen WM 24/11/09)
Have your say!