This preface introduces volume 3’s contributions in the context of the Kauffman Fellows Program mission and the recent explosive growth of the Program, the Society of Kauffman Fellows, and the Center for Venture Education.
Decision analysis is a framework for making informed decisions under extreme uncertainty. Using Inkling, Inc. as a case study, the author demonstrates how Ulu Ventures uses decision analysis to structure, support, and challenge the intuitive judgments upon which venture investments are based, marrying the art of venture investing with the science of decision making.
Japan’s response to disaster recovery has been to rebuild as before-in this article, the author frames disaster recovery as an opportunity to drive entrepreneurial innovation in Japan. Through the lens of four young activists in the Tohoku region, he proposes a model of disaster response that hinges on local leadership with global connectivity and announces a new Fellow-founded investment vehicle.
In response to the significant challenges traditional media companies face from digital formats and product bundling, the BBC formed BBC Worldwide. The author describes how he formed the BBC Worldwide team and has leveraged the value of the BBC and garnered success by exploring alternatives to traditional VC investing.
This article explains the particulars of mission investing for charitable foundations and examines the potential of venture investment to support mission goals. The author considers the complexities on both sides of the relationship and the ways they can work together for double-bottom-line investing.
The middle of the United States is an underserved venture geography, where the author and DFJ Mercury have achieved significant success. He describes the value of relationship-building and mentoring across innovators, markets, and strategic partners as the key to DFJ Mercury’s success in this vast and diverse region.
This article deconstructs the limitations current limited partner practices place on innovation and particularly on the success of new funds. Using the example of 137 Ventures’s formation, the author demonstrates the challenges faced by new funds and new fund managers, and suggests ways for the LP community to create change.
Drawing on decades of experience in patent litigation, the author outlines IP as a venture whitespace by summarizing the important trends shaping IP markets today and naming key disruptions on the horizon from new IP businesses.
Through the remarkable stories of d.light design and Husk Power Systems, the authors assess impact investment opportunities in India’s renewable energy market for the poor, address the value of non-traditional venture capital for this ecosystem, and make recommendations for policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs.
Jocelyn Brown and Impact Investing. Michael Madison and Koichiro Nakamura’s Cross-Border Venture Revolution. Tan Yinglan and Chinnovation, Scott Ford and the Mobile Revolution.
Fellow-founded fund: 137 Ventures $50,000,000 Fund I June 2011 137 Ventures is an investment firm focused on providing creative liquidity solutions to shareholders of later-stage private technology companies. Some of their investments to date include Palantir Technologies and SolarCity. 137 Ventures was founded in 2010 by Founders Fund alumni Justin Fishner-Wolfson (KFP Class 14) and […]