National Destination
Why not Us?...Why not Now?

How…National Destination

  • Outward Focus complementing an inward focus.
  • Access “High Impact Talent” through a distributed network.
  • Influence versus Control… “Invisible yet Influential”.
  • Collaborate & Partner with next generation technologists & inferential decision makers across state and national boundaries.
  • Invest & Leverage sustainable economic assets locally and internationally.
  • Focus on a Single Point of Leverage“Hidden Intellectual Property”

"Why not us?" "Why not now?"

“Why Not Us?” & “Why Not Now?”  could become a distinctive 21st century theme.   Uncommon-friends, as influencers, have a pivotal role to play in expanding a distributed network’s   reputation as a national destination.

21st century initiatives are global, rapid and technologically advanced; therefore, we must…

  • Accelerate and magnify an advanced work-force & primary jobs.*
  • Create the foundation for industries & privately-held headquarters of the future.
  • Identify a point of leverage to shape an economy.

*Primary Jobs explained in 4 minute video by OKC’s Roy Williams:  https://youtu.be/MsbgbCJyZYY

See ASU President Crow’s role as Chairman of the CIA’s investment group at In-Q-Tel created in 1999:  www.IQT.org

“Talent Matters…Technology Matters…Timing Matters”

In ASU’s President Mike Crow’s interview regarding “The New Economy” for ASU and Arizona, he hinted at the importance of “…designing driver assisted vehicles instead of just testing those vehicles in Arizona.”  Was Crow’s point lost in the discussion?  Design should be highlighted as a core competency for our distributed network to compete as an National Destination in the 21st century?

ASU’s President Crow’s one hour video on “The New Economy”

Why is design or RE-DESIGN for international markets important when creating the “foundation for future industries” that Crow believes is central?  Three historical examples include, Henry Ford did not design the first automobile.  He redesigned it.  Steve Jobs did not design the first PC.  He redesigned the Osborne Computer.  Jobs did not design the first smartphone.  Jobs redesigned a Blackberry.   Google did not design the first search engine.  It was Yahoo and Google redesigned the algorithm.  Marc Andreesson did not design DOS for the internet.  He redesigned and created Mosaic, the first browser for the WWW in 1992.

Re-Design of existing products with established national markets is the  starting point with the least risk for existing privately-held headquarters interested in scaling or enterprise formation; however, it is not the final tactic.

Five Questions

Question #1: Where in the 20th century was the 3rd high technology and venture capital region that shaped an economy?

Clues: 

  • Boston’s Route 128 and San Francisco’s Silicon Valley exist.
  • Originally, a rural city of America in the early 20th century
  •  ???

Question #2:  What percentage of the $5.8 trillion dollar investment by the U.S. Government in R&D since 1976 has been commercialized? No database exists.

Question #3: Patents represent what percentage of the total intellectual property in the U.S.?  No database exists.

Question #4: What adjective might replace information from the “Information Economy” by 2040?

America still has the Agricultural Economy, the Industrial Economy,  the Consumer Economy, the Knowledge Economy, and the Information Economy.  They all still exist and will continue to make a contribution to America’s GDP in the 21st century.

  • Clues: Some thoughtful experts suggest:  Green, Nano, Gnome, Networked, AI, etc.,…make a list of your top three.  My choice in not included in this list.  What is your choice?

Question #5: Is “Hidden Intellectual Property” a point of leverage?   Could a network exploit this reservoir to become a national destination?  See Seattle’s investment:  www.intellectualventures.com

 

Outcomes & Strategy

What are the desirable outcomes as a National Destination?

  • Expanded Middle Class and Number of Primary Jobs.
  • Pipeline of Privately Owned Headquarters that can Scale.
  • Specialized “New Economy” * Work-Force.
  • ReDesigned Valued Added Products: Walmart Supply Chain Initially.
  • Range of  Emerging Technology Headquarters.
Mapping a Long Term Future...Unexplored Territory

The original maps for California were completed by explorers who actually traveled to the location. We are embarking on an adventure as creators, not just explorers, of a future. Few people in 1970 would have predicted accurately
what Silicon Valley would look like in 2020; nonetheless, in 2040.

National Destination
Why not Us?...Why not Now?

Talent...Technology...Timing...

“If anything
imaginable is possible, if there are no constraints
whatsoever, what would be the nature of a trustworthy organization to…

effectively facilitate the fair exchange of ‘entangled’ intellectual property

including trade secrets across borders?”  

adapted from Dee Hock, VISA founder

What is the single point of leverage that will validate its role as a national destination for intellectual property…21st century wisdom?

Entanglement of Patents, Trade Secrets & Hidden Intellectual Property.

Could a cadre of “Prime Movers” become a distributed network 

of talent to shape the  21st century?

  • Adopt an “Infinite” Perspective… “Last one Standing”
  • Shape initially a 21st Century “Re-Design Culture”
  • Fund a national clearinghouse for hidden intellectual property
  • Create Non-Profit Consortia for the..“Global Supply Chain”

Momentum...The 16% Who Went Before:
2.5% Innovators + 13.5% Early Adopters

  • Land-Grant Principles…The Land-Grant College movement was founded in 1855 as the Michigan State College of Agriculture to educate the sons and daughters of artisans and farmers.  What emerged in 1913 and over the next 100 years was an effective technology integration and transfer system for the 20th century.
  • WARF…In 1925, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation was founded as an independent entity to fund research and transfer intellectual property.  In 2022, its endowment was $2.6+ billion.
  • MIT Foundation & University of Maine: Portland…In 1975, MIT’s “New Enterprise Formation” joint venture is rejected by the NSF and funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.  It was the 1st university based entrepreneurial institute to propose the transfer of hidden intellectual property from the file drawers of Boston technology companies to create niche headquarters in Maine.
  • MIT: Lead-User Model…In 1998, A 3M and MIT research project led by Professor Eric von Hippel showcased the reality of which professionals are most effective at new product development.
  • In-Q-Tel…Created by the CIA in 1999 to fund early stage companies that did not meet VC criteria but were critical technologies for U.S. Government intelligence agencies.  Chaired currently by ASU President Michael Crow.
  • Innocentive…Launched by Eli Lilly Corporation in 2001 to crowdsource for solutions within a distributed system.
  • Fuse Project… In 1999, Yves Behar founds a new design company with 100+ employees that eventually designs products for major companies, e.g., Herman Miller.
  • Cleveland Foundation hires Ronn Richard as President in 2003.  Mr. Richard was the former COO of In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture company create in 1999.  Ronn led in shaping sustainable economic sectors for Cleveland over the last two decades.
  • Intellectual Ventures…Founded in 2005 by Nathan Myhrvold and Edward Jung of Microsoft along with a  $5.5+ billion dollar 20 year limited partnership to acquire and sell intellectual property.
  • Y  Combinator…Sam Altman scaled this accelerator created in 2005 by providing coaching along with seed capital…$500,000 per company for 7% equity…without a formal business plan.
  • Urgent Evoke..Robert Hawkins with The World Bank funded and hired Jane McGonigal to design an interactive game that launched in 2010, had 4,000+ participants from 120 countries and ran as a 10-week “crash course in saving the world.”  It was geared for students across Africa but engaged people from around the world in problem solving.  See TED videos: https://www.ted.com/speakers/jane_mcgonigal  
  • OpenAI…Sam Altman left Y Combinator to lead an open source research organization founded in 2015 focused exclusively on AI.  Funded by individuals & companies that launched ChatGPT in late 2022.

Yes, you should worry...
5 Barriers ...A 21st Century Disrupter
"Last One Standing"

  • Tried Consortia in the Past and Often Failed
  • Company Owners Lack Knowledge & Experience
  • Pool of Privately-Held MFG Companies Is Too Small
  • Too Risky for Inventors & Technologists
  • “Commercializing” is a Dirty Word in Academia
See details at Five Barriers…The Consortia

See “Intersection: 2050 Economy” below drafted in July 2022.

See “Prime Movers” drafted in July 2023.