Fall Innovation
Mary Claire often reminds me that September and October are the most wonderful months, from a weather perspective, regardless of where one is in the world. That certainly is the case in New York, where the US Open is in full swing and the crowds are enjoying gorgeous evenings to go along with outstanding tennis. The Federer vs. Roddick match was outstanding. We are watching one of the all time greats on his way to winning his fourth straight US Open.
We spent part of the Labor Day weekend enjoying New York and then flew to the Bay Area for the balance of the week. It was time to come back and take inventory of our home renovation project in Blackhawk. I will save the details for a later column, because the lessons learned are significant and this column is about innovation, not renovation. I will mention, though, that the wine cellar that is being created just off the kitchen is starting to excite us!
I am also here on the West Coast for a board meeting of Jigsaw, www.jigsaw.com, an Austin Ventures early stage portfolio company. Many of you may have heard Jim Fowler, Jigsaw’s co-founder and CEO, speak on a panel at the ABM Spring Meeting in Naples, Florida. Web 2.0 social networking companies continue to innovate and prosper here in the Valley. I once had someone explain to me that “on the east coast you believe that three content experts and one engineer will create outstanding products and services, but on the West Coast we reverse that and believe it is one content expert and three engineers that will carry the day.” Jigsaw’s community is clearly an excellent example of the latter. All of us involved in the B2B industry need to understand the profound shift that has occurred and that disruptive technologies will create new winners and losers.
I spent time during our vacation becoming better acquainted with the iPhone’s (AAPL) capabilities, which are extraordinary when you are in a WiFi environment. The experience is similar to holding a Mac in your hands. With yesterday’s price cut to $399 for the 8GB iPhone, longtime innovator Steve Jobs is once again leading the way in the consumer market. I am confident that AT&T is delighted with the leadership position Jobs has bestowed on their mobile platform. Many of the new investments made this fall in the Valley will be in companies with innovative mobile technologies.
Beyond the weather, fall is also my favorite season because of professional baseball and football. The Yankees were written off by many in July, when they trailed the Red Sox by 15 games. They are now moving closer to at least claiming a wild-card entry for the playoffs. We have all grown accustomed to this great rivalry of the Red Sox vs. the Yankees, and it looks like this postseason will provide us with another opportunity to pull for our favorite team. A-Rod was also written off last October, only to come back and have an MVP type of season. Many of us could learn a lesson from Joe Torre’s patience under fire.
Finally, this evening the Saints take on last year’s Super Bowl champions, the Colts, in Indianapolis. We will once again get to see outstanding leadership on the field from Peyton Manning and see how players react for a coach, Tony Dungy, that treats them with respect.
With innovative companies to work with during the week, outstanding sporting events to watch in the evenings and on the weekends, and some fall golf, I must admit that there is much to enjoy and keep us fully engaged this fall.