Random Ramblings

Atlas Venture hosted an event on Monday night titled Innovating Established Industries: Building Large Businesses in New England. Huge turnout of at least 500 people, about 75% of whom were entrepreneurs hoping to meet the other 25%, who were venture capitalists (including the Atlas crew). Oh yeah, I also was there as the token hanger-on. My final tally? Two beers, one 7&7 and a handful of unrelated observations:

*** I listened to talk radio on my drive into Cambridge, because my car’s CD player skips like a schoolgirl on a hopscotch court. The conversation concerned these comments by TV blowhgard Bill O’Reilly, who apparently believes that San Francisco no longer deserves federal protection from terrorism, based on a recent referendum vote that bans military recruiting within public schools (the issue of San Franciscans paying federal tax dollars was never raised). Anyway, most of the callers took a “They are anti-military, let them die” approach to the matter, suggesting that San Fran contributes little more than liberal politics and fine chocolates. More importantly, several callers also leveled a similar accusation at my beloved home state of Massachusetts (although chocolates were replaced by clams).

This nonsense was on my mind as I listened to keynote speaker Ranch Kimball, secretary of economic development here in Mass. Ranch talked a lot about the town of Westford, Mass., which houses some of the nation’s most important machine tools companies for the aerospace and defense industries. He also noted that Massachusetts has around 80,000 defense technology-related jobs, which means that 3.5 times more people here work on defense technology than on biotechnology. I have no idea what the San Fran defense tech numbers are, but I assume there also is a significant cluster. More importantly, the city has nurtured lots of tech innovation that helps drive our tanks, planes, etc.

So back to the talk radio conversation, and the general lack of recognition that our nation is interdependent, no matter how flat the world may become. Could our military operate without the contributions of "anti-military" regions like San Fran or Massachusetts? Yes, but not nearly as effectively. Could I buy five loaves of bread for Thanksgiving stuffing without Kansas? Yes, but it would cost a lot more. Maybe it’s simply a reflection of how well this country’s economy actually works that so few people look under the hood any more. For all the talk about our political differences (red state v. blue state, etc.), our common interests are far more significant.

*** Lots of cool companies during the event’s Innovation Showcase, including one that had a warehouse-helper robot rolling around. By far the most interesting, however, was Seldon Laberatories, a company that uses carbon nanotubes to purify water. No UV light or chemicals for this process, which could be utilized either large-scale (municipality water system) or small-scale (in a hiker or soldier’s backpack). It has received some cash from NASA and the US Air Force, and probably will get some VC money within the next year or so (Atlas has not yet invested, but is keeping a close eye as an informal advisor).

Perhaps most interesting is that the company’s patent pending technology could have enormous applications beyond water. For example, it’s working new-fangled military armour (one carbon nanotube theoretically is strong enough to suspend a locamotive). More impressively, some folks believe that the technology could be used to filter human blood of bacteria and viruses. Just let that sink in for a moment, because it is quite momentous. Yeah it’s a long shot, but again, isn’t it great to think about?

*** Atlas Venture is still on target to close its seventh fund by year-end. Just thought you might want to know...