“The best way to predict the future is to invent it”. That’s how Vinod Khosla, in quoting Alan Kay, perceives our energy unknowns.
A friend of mine sent me an audio file from the founder of Menlo Park venture capital firm Khosla Ventures. It’s from a while ago, but still relevant as ever. Download the .mp3 or listen online here. http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2051
Now we have only recently understood the difference between i) funding in basic research and ii) funding for engineering and product development. And yes, this fellow’s portfolio is mostly on the development side.
BUT check out the Seed Fund page http://www.khoslaventures.com/khosla/seed_fund_wm.html on the Khosla Ventures website. There MUST exist cold fusion projects that can meet this criteria.
Here’s a quote from Vinod:
“It may be hard to wrap a plan or even an application around a significant technology breakthrough or science experiment. But just because we cannot quantify an opportunity does not mean it is not a real or a large one. Big technical breakthroughs do not lend themselves to spreadsheet analysis or IRR calculations, but we will often take the risk if it feels right. Even a technology with 90 percent probability of failure may be worth doing if there is a 10 percent chance of massive impact in a large, important market.”
Khosla Ventures
Do you have a scientific breakthrough? YES.
Why is now the right time? BECAUSE WE WON’T SURVIVE OTHERWISE.
Continue compelling argument….
From their Submit business plan page:
“If your plan fits our investment criteria, we would like to hear from you.
The plan does not need to be fancy or long but should address the key points articulated in the seed and main fund sections. We like concise, 4-6 page summaries of the business plan or the presentation, addressing key questions. ……
….Every business plan within our investment areas will be reviewed. Due to the volume of plans and materials, we may take a few weeks to get back to you.”
CF Scientists: There must be 4-6 pages floating on a hard drive somewhere, written during an earlier time, when energy was not so much on the front burner.
Cold Fusion Now has arrived on the scene 21 years late, and waltzed into a bog of politics and policy. But we want this new technology (that’s not even developed yet!) and we want it yesterday. We are on the ground writing letters, submitting requests, giving away copies of books AND talking cold fusion at every opportunity, to friends, artists, co-workers, at street fairs, flea markets, art shows, in the food store, at the pizza shop, and even just walking down the street. (Yes, we are VERY friendly!)
A little ignorance can be a good thing, because we at Cold Fusion Now don’t know what can’t be done, and we’re willing to go the distance and pound on doors trying. We hope our small blindness can open one of those doors.
Till then, o my peoples! how about contacting this fellow with a short proposal. What do you have to lose?