We all know that nanotechnology is the next great technology wave. It will lead to profound advances in energy, medicine, electronics and other areas: think matter compilers, personalized meds, and inexhaustible power sources. At Draper Fisher Jurvetson, we have been exploring and investing in the nanotech arena for the past five years. While we have been introduced to many fascinating ideas and concepts that won't be realized for five to ten years, we have been able to identify and back a number of nanotech business opportunities that have real world applicability today.
This talk will tackle a diverse set of topics that will be interwoven in a logical manner. Starting from a broad perspective, we'll explore the sources of future innovation, diving into the way we think about technology and the way that it is progressing in an exponential fashion. This will lead into our primary discussion on nanotechnology: How is it advancing? Who is making it happen? When will the nanotech "wave" really hit? How will this revolution impact computer science? From this point, we'll transition into a discussion of how we, as investors, think about this trend and the opportunities: How does venture capital work? What are we looking for when we invest in a start-up? How should engineering and business entrepreneurs approach the formation of their start-up in order to raise money and maximize their chance of success?
This will be a thought-provoking, interactive talk that is guaranteed to make you to think...small.
About the speaker:
Warren Packard is a Managing Director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Previously, Warren co-founded Angara Database Systems, a main memory relational database company, which was acquired by Personify. Prior to co-founding Angara, he was an Associate at Institutional Venture Partners, investing in early-stage technology companies with a specific focus on health care information technology. Before IVP, Warren was a Senior Principal Engineer at Baxter Healthcare Corporation. During his tenure at Baxter, Warren designed cutting edge medical devices that incorporated novel MEMS components and revolutionary electro-mechanical designs. Primary clinical research conducted by Warren has also been published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. He currently serves on the Boards of 422, Anagran, BinOptics, FlexICS, Imago Scientific Instruments, Media Lario, and Xfire. Warren also led the firm's investments in Eoplex, Hypernex, Microfabrica, Chili!Soft (acquired by Sun Microsystems: SUNW), Digital Impact (NASDAQ: DIGI), Direct Hit Technologies (acquired by Ask Jeeves: ASKJ), Enviz (acquired by Keynote Systems: KEYN), Fogdog Sports (acquired by Global Sports: GSPT), and NetMind (acquired by Pumatech: PUMA). Warren is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University and holds a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering: Smart Product Design. He received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar.
Contact information:
Warren Packard
Draper Fisher Jurvetson
2882 Sand Hill Road
Suite 150
650-233-9000
650-233-9233
warren@djf.com