The Sci-fi Idea Bank is a spreadsheet of 3,567 sci-fi ideas, that proves, if you choose to believe it, that ideas for new technologies appear in science fiction first, and, can serve, for the ambitious, as a catalyst to bring Sci-fi to life. Vintage (like 1634 vintage!) and post-modern, it includes: bio-energy (1726), food tablets […]
Category: Observations
My Coronavirus Experience
This morning, I walked out of our apartment at 930am, running late. I reached the corner and was about to turn onto Fourth Avenue, when a guy looked at me and held his gaze for longer than comfortable. He was staring at my chin. I stared back, realized I had walked out without a mask. […]
Devo
“You’re into Devo?” he asked. “Aren’t you?” His tone mocking. As if there was something wrong with it. Because for him, Yeah. Devo was too mainstream. Fake alternative. He was above that, and what he thought they stood for. “Of course I am,” I answered, thinking, Whatanasshole. “How could you not be?” Because at the time […]
Organism Design. Minecraft Chemistry.
Organism or microbe design is an emerging industry. It’s analogous to the semi-conductor industry. Companies design and manufacture the semi-conductors found in computers, phones, cars, and televisions. Today, end-users rarely make semi-conductors themselves. They hire the expertise and apply what is manufactured to create a product. Organism design companies are reprograming yeast and bacteria to produce […]
I Built a 22,000 Contact Network on LinkedIn. Here’s Why You Don’t Need To. Part 1
TL;DR I grew my LinkedIn network to 22K contacts. You *might* grow yours to advance your career. “You want to have as large a LinkedIn network as possible,” he said. At the time, I didn’t understand. What was this investor was telling me? I’d been on the professional social network for a few years. I’d […]
Product Market Fit
To paraphrase, Lean Startup author Eric Reis, “We can build any product. The question is: Will anyone buy it?” True Story: She is developing a new chip set. It’s revolutionary in its design and potential applications. When I ask about customers, she answers, “We’re building a platform, like the app store.” When I ask about […]
What I’m Reading
Happy New Year! Over the holidays, I unsubscribed from dozens of newsletters. I was very critical in thinking through whether a newsletter belonged in my email box. Was it helping me stay informed? Was it inspiring? Or, was it wasting (virtual) space? Here are a few of the newsletters I subscribe to stay up to date on biotech, […]
2017: A Year Wraps and Good Riddance
Good Riddance 2017 It was a good year, but not without its challenges. The TL;DR is: mL grew more than 10 percent but is still down from its 2015 high. I co-authored and published What’s Your Bio Strategy? I moderated a panel at SynBioBeta SF17 and keynoted at Biofabricate 4 and enjoyed it. I now […]
It’s No Secret, Your Presentation Matters
How you present your business, your story, your offer is no secret. In many cases, it’s the presentation that matters. The voice you use, the magazines your content appears in, the social channels you engage in. Your presentation is the articles, blog posts, and white papers you publish. It’s the videos on your web site and […]
How to Create 10,000 Jobs?
How do you create 10,000 jobs? Train 500 brewers. Originally, I was going to write: Train 10,000 teachers. Despite the overwhelming need for teachers [1], the profession currently is looked down upon in the United States and people don’t understand that if you don’t invest in education, you’re not investing in the future. (Cynically, I […]