Comments for The Embedded Internet http://blog.nbt-ventures.com Linking the physical world and the Internet Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:20:29 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Giving voice to a billion things by Robert Poor http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/2008/05/05/giving-voice-to-a-billion-things/#comment-42 Robert Poor Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:20:29 +0000 http://nbtventures.wordpress.com/?p=7#comment-42 Hola Rancel: I think you are one of four people who read my thesis (and there were three people on my committee) :). You can PM me at my work address: robert [punto] poor [at] nbt-ventures [punto] com. - rob Hola Rancel:

I think you are one of four people who read my thesis (and there were three people on my committee) :) .

You can PM me at my work address: robert [punto] poor [at] nbt-ventures [punto] com.

- rob

]]> Comment on Giving voice to a billion things by Rancel http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/2008/05/05/giving-voice-to-a-billion-things/#comment-41 Rancel Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:36:32 +0000 http://nbtventures.wordpress.com/?p=7#comment-41 Hello Mr. Robert, I'm a peruvian telecommunication engineer student who have recently started to learned about wireless networks and read your MIT thesis (GRAd algorithm).I would like to ask you 3 things about GRAd and arbornet do to implement it. Can I? Where can I do it? - Rancel Varrona Hello Mr. Robert, I’m a peruvian telecommunication engineer student who have recently started to learned about wireless networks and read your MIT thesis (GRAd algorithm).I would like to ask you 3 things about GRAd and arbornet do to implement it. Can I? Where can I do it?

- Rancel Varrona

]]> Comment on Taming the buzzing cell phone by Jeff http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/2009/08/12/taming-the-buzzing-cell-phone/#comment-39 Jeff Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:18:06 +0000 http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/?p=64#comment-39 this is a great trick rob. thanks this is a great trick rob. thanks

]]> Comment on Five concise questions for the entrepreneur by Sonia Lyris http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/2009/06/11/five-concise-questions-for-the-entrepreneur/#comment-31 Sonia Lyris Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:47:13 +0000 http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/?p=51#comment-31 Defining a start-up business is not the same thing as defining an on-going concern. I want to agree with you, I really do, yet while an established business may well be definable as a set of processes and resources that one (skilled) person can do (nearly) as well as another, an entreprenueral enterprise has so many ways to fail, and the actual actors have to be skilled and lucky and agile -- and sometimes very foolish -- to succeed. They are not interchangable in that phase the way they might be later on. (Indeed, later on, the business is often better off without them. Another subject.) So, yes, I could be persuaded to agree with you that in an established business there is a useful distinction between the processes and resources that make money and the people who are making those things happen. For the start-up, I don't quite buy it. For a start-up, the processes and the people are often creating each other on an on-going basis. Since you asked for my opinion. :) Defining a start-up business is not the same thing as defining an on-going concern. I want to agree with you, I really do, yet while an established business may well be definable as a set of processes and resources that one (skilled) person can do (nearly) as well as another, an entreprenueral enterprise has so many ways to fail, and the actual actors have to be skilled and lucky and agile — and sometimes very foolish — to succeed. They are not interchangable in that phase the way they might be later on. (Indeed, later on, the business is often better off without them. Another subject.)

So, yes, I could be persuaded to agree with you that in an established business there is a useful distinction between the processes and resources that make money and the people who are making those things happen. For the start-up, I don’t quite buy it. For a start-up, the processes and the people are often creating each other on an on-going basis.

Since you asked for my opinion. :)

]]> Comment on Five concise questions for the entrepreneur by nbtventures http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/2009/06/11/five-concise-questions-for-the-entrepreneur/#comment-30 nbtventures Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:55:42 +0000 http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/?p=51#comment-30 Sonia: I agree with you about the importance. But I want to stress the difference between a business (an organized way of making money) and a company (a collection of individuals that form a business). I think you're making a VERY good point about the importance of a team in making a healthy company. I'm trying to tease out the essentials attributes that define a business. Yes? Sonia:

I agree with you about the importance. But I want to stress the difference between a business (an organized way of making money) and a company (a collection of individuals that form a business).

I think you’re making a VERY good point about the importance of a team in making a healthy company. I’m trying to tease out the essentials attributes that define a business.

Yes?

]]> Comment on Five concise questions for the entrepreneur by Sonia Lyris http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/2009/06/11/five-concise-questions-for-the-entrepreneur/#comment-29 Sonia Lyris Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:42:23 +0000 http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/?p=51#comment-29 There may be a difference between a start-up business, in which the team is critical, and an established business in which the processes and product are in place. Maybe. My experience with startups is that without the right team, there simply is no business. Just try swapping out your entire team and see how it goes. For established business, that might not be as much the case, though I doubt even an established business can continue without blip if you swap out everyone. I'd be happy to find out how wrong I am when I have an established business. :) There may be a difference between a start-up business, in which the team is critical, and an established business in which the processes and product are in place. Maybe.

My experience with startups is that without the right team, there simply is no business. Just try swapping out your entire team and see how it goes. For established business, that might not be as much the case, though I doubt even an established business can continue without blip if you swap out everyone. I’d be happy to find out how wrong I am when I have an established business. :)

]]> Comment on Five concise questions for the entrepreneur by nbtventures http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/2009/06/11/five-concise-questions-for-the-entrepreneur/#comment-28 nbtventures Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:33:12 +0000 http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/?p=51#comment-28 Sonia: Great to hear from you. I think choice of team is very (very) important, but I have a harder time believing that the team actually <strong>defines</strong> the business. Most likely, I've mis-titled this thread: it should have been "five questions that define a business". Agreed? Sonia:

Great to hear from you. I think choice of team is very (very) important, but I have a harder time believing that the team actually defines the business.

Most likely, I’ve mis-titled this thread: it should have been "five questions that define a business".

Agreed?

]]> Comment on Five concise questions for the entrepreneur by Sonia Lyris http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/2009/06/11/five-concise-questions-for-the-entrepreneur/#comment-27 Sonia Lyris Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:23:54 +0000 http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/?p=51#comment-27 Who is your team? Few of us do brilliant work solo. Who is your team? Few of us do brilliant work solo.

]]> Comment on On being an expert… by dlweinreb http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/2009/05/07/on-being-an-expert/#comment-25 dlweinreb Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:07:16 +0000 http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/2009/05/07/on-being-an-expert/#comment-25 I've been attending meetings of the Mass Tech Leadership Council's Robotics Cluster, because I am hoping to find good investments for Common Angels, and because robotics is cool. It turns out that I am the only investor who ever comes to these meetings (almost). In fact one goal of the group is to get more VC's prepared to invest in robotics. Dan Kara, who comes to the group and was running the RoboBusiness conference, asked me to give a talk on investing in robotics; so I did. Then, about a month later, I was invited to be on a panel to talk on the same topic. Presto: instant "Expert!". It's not that I'm really such a hot-shot expert; I'm just the only person who seems to know anything in particular about this from the Boston angel/VC community. Go figure. I’ve been attending meetings of the Mass Tech Leadership Council’s Robotics Cluster, because I am hoping to find good investments for Common Angels, and because robotics is cool. It turns out that I am the only investor who ever comes to these meetings (almost). In fact one goal of the group is to get more VC’s prepared to invest in robotics. Dan Kara, who comes to the group and was running the RoboBusiness conference, asked me to give a talk on investing in robotics; so I did. Then, about a month later, I was invited to be on a panel to talk on the same topic. Presto: instant “Expert!”. It’s not that I’m really such a hot-shot expert; I’m just the only person who seems to know anything in particular about this from the Boston angel/VC community. Go figure.

]]> Comment on Five concise questions for the entrepreneur by fearless_fool http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/2009/06/11/five-concise-questions-for-the-entrepreneur/#comment-24 fearless_fool Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:09:16 +0000 http://blog.nbt-ventures.com/?p=51#comment-24 Craig; I hadn't considered that the way you market or promote could "concisely define a business", but now I realize that's a possibility. Burma Shave comes to mind... Good call. Craig; I hadn’t considered that the way you market or promote could “concisely define a business”, but now I realize that’s a possibility. Burma Shave comes to mind…

Good call.

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