As a technology investor since 2003 and a technology entrepreneur since 1995, I am launching this blog to try and make sense of the rapid changes in the technology industry and to gain perspective on the challenges and context for entrepreneurial investments in the 21^st century.

Why, you might wonder, another VC blog?

Well, first of all, my fund 21Ventures is structured a bit differently than most of the VC funds out, primarily in our dedication to seed and early-stage investing in companies that have grown out of university research and development. As my title indicates, I take inspiration from Charles Dickens, who offered a sober and sometimes contrarian perspective on the ravages of the war and social unrest and the opportunity it created for heroic endeavors.

I will attempt to focus on specific industries that I invest my own money in—clean technologies, security, mobile tech, and PIPESs, among others. I will attempt to focus on innovations that directly impact these sectors write about policies and trends that impact these specific technology sectors.

But enough of the introductions and on to the stark realities of the market meltdown. 

The Worst of Times

With the near collapse of global financial systems, government bailouts, stock markets in free-fall, consumers fearful, and the political future, in this country, uncertain, many pundits have raised the specter of the Great Depression engulfing the world into dark days ahead. For a venture capital industry that has already been hampered by a dearth of IPOs and few M&A exits, the future might indeed look gloomy.

This we all know. What is more problematic is what innovation can we all look at that is a “must have” that has been commercialized in the last three years? I submit to you that there has been none. Nothing in IT that businesses must have, nothing in biotech that has saved million of lives, nothing in clean tech that has dramatically changed the cost of energy. In telecom, you could argue that the iPhone and the copycat smart phones are disruptive and may change the way we communicate. Interestingly, Voice Over IP is probably the most disruptive technology in telecom. But as the cost of telecom keeps going down and down, it still remains to be seen how VOIP innovators will make money. In entertainment? Again, Apple may be the leader with the success of iTunes. With the launch of just one web site Apple has shown that money can still be made by the music industry and customers are happy to pay ninety-nine cents for a song.

What makes this the worst of times is the lack of truly disruptive innovation and at a time when the world needs these kinds of solutions to dramatically change the way we live, eat, work, and play. So, what went wrong?

The 1990s witnessed tremendous disruption with the infiltration of the Internet. Wall Street changed forever. Retailing changed forever, communications changed forever, education changed forever, and we as VCs bet heavily on this disruptive innovation and how all the derivative ideas could change the world. VCs and entrepreneurs took risk and were rewarded. But, of course, as we all know, the speculation grew into frenzy and exploded. By 2002, the appetite for risk was gone.  Funds had to keep their existing companies alive and could not take the risk on seed deals. The obligation was to maintain a steady course and pray for some return on their investments.

In the wake of this steady approach, the disruptive innovations were left to languish in university labs. And there they still are today. Let me make one point very clear. The pace of innovation and research never stopped, only the funding of commercializing it.

The Best of Times

As uncomfortable as it sounds, the dire challenges facing the world today, including climate change, affordable healthcare, global food distribution, and adequate education, emerging markets creates the very environment needed for the introduction of disruptive technologies.

Again, we can embrace these challenges as the best of times because the solutions to these problems are out there. Where?  At universities and R&D centers across the world. The difficult job is to scour through the millions of IP disclosures and find the find the disruptive technologies that can solve carbon emission, can create low cost renewable energy, and improve the agricultural yields of the remaining fertile land on the planet.

In the best of times, we can look at the mess of the world around us and energize the need to make great changes. In the best of times, we can put a man on the moon in 10 years while demonstrations and war tears at the fabric of society. In the best of times, we can look beyond the market rollercoaster, failed policies, uncertainty, fear, and loss to seriously invest in a future that seriously needs the talent, innovation, and ideas that it will take to solve global problems.

I trust we are up to the task.