Current Obsessions and Inner Chatter

Tonight I attended the UW CSE Annual Industrial Affiliates Meeting.

As I walked around, I bumped into familiar faces close to the UW CSE and Startup communities.   I asked people “how are we doing on entrepreneurship coming out of the department?”  Surprisingly, feedback from 3 people very close to the issue was “we’re not doing too well.”  Common themes:

1. Infrequent interaction between entrepreneurs, venture capital and the university
2. UW CSE department seems to measure itself on students who progress into academia (vs. go off and start successful companies)
3. Sense that Seattle’s community shuns failure

Wow, that’s depressing!   But, if true, how can we overcome it?

At dinner in front of everyone, I had the chance to ask a panel of local VCs, “What are things we can do to advance entrepreneurship between the UW CSE and the Seattle community?”

Here’s a summary of responses (note:  I’m paraphrasing very briefly from my limited iPhone notes)

• Cameron Myrvold, Ignition -  the problem is cultural; compared to the silicon valley, historically the best people went to big companies vs. starting companies, and failure is still shunned.
• Bill McAleer, Voyager Capital - we need to do things that increase the risk tolerance.  Things like the UW business plan competition helps
• Ron Howell, WRF Capital - everyone in the community needs to show up at events and actively participate
• Mark Ashida, OVP - agreed that the problem is cultural.  In the silicon valley (where he worked for years) it is considered a positive career step to venture out of big companies and okay to fail vs. here where it is perceived as a negative.  We need to work to change that perception
• Greg Gottesman, Madrona - we need to catalyze entrepreneurship, and he and Madrona are working on that, via a Y Combinator or Tech Stars type program currently under discussion, which will be sponsored by area VCs and involve industry veterans.
• Ed Lazowska, UW CSE - over the last 12 years, there has been positive change and progress and we need to continue that.  The notion of an organization like Y Combinator here in Seattle is an excellent one that people should support

What do you think? Does Seattle have a cultural intolerance of failure that stifles entrepreneurship?  And what are some concrete things the community can do to encourage entrepreneurship coming out of UW CSE?

Last week I attended FiReGlobal West as a guest speaker on a CTO Challenge Panel discussing how technology can help increase civic engagement at all levels of government.

Here are a few rough notes I took (and my opinions interwoven) throughout the day

Education

The internet is disruptive to the traditional model of education.  The role of teacher has (or must) change from leading a classroom step-wise through a lesson plan, to that of learning coach.  Classrooms should not march forward in lock-step, but rather each student should have full access to the tools and knowledge that is the internet and be given the coaching needed to learn at their own individualized pace.

Currently policies like “no child left behind” serve to insure that every child learns at the pace of the slowest child.  This is backwards.  Instead, the super-learners and laggards should each get the appropriate coaching and move at their own pace.

Naturally, teachers feel threatened by these changes.  Forward-thinkers say “we’ve got to get the adults out of the way of technology”.

FiReStars

I jotted down notes about/from some of the local technology companies that were highlighted.

Serious Materials - creating drywall and 2-pane window components that compete with traditional materials but which are far more energy efficient.  Traditional drywall and 2-pane windows were inventions of 100+ years ago and have not innovated since.  52% of C02 comes from buildings and building construction vs. only 9% from cars (worldwide).  Key lesson learned:  to make this a business, they’ve had to sell these not with a green message, but with an economic argument; they must be better, cheaper or both to sell.

InTouch Health - robot for hospital rooms allowing remote doctors to move around, talk to patient and view monitoring devices from anywhere in the world.  This was one impressive demo!

Oceans

“The world seems to ignore predictions — even well substantiated ones — and does not act until a severe, shocking event leads to some tipping point”

Current threats to our oceans:  warming leading to extinctions, pollution leading to slow death of species, dams, dead zones, disease in fish farms, inbreeding in fish farms, species hunted to extinction, invasive species trans-location, acidification via C02, reef destruction, etc.

How do we foster the leadership to overcome these?  put a price on carbon emissions so that the commercial world will engage in a market sense.  Engage the tech community with a challenge, modify the politics to be more aligned with societal interests.

Michael Dell

On China:  “Visiting there, you just wouldn’t think there’s an economic crises at all”

On IT Budgets during the Recession:  “First there is cost control, then people’s minds turn towards productivity, then towards tools”

On the Future of IT:  completely mobile-oriented workforces, devices are connected via cellular (instead of local ethernet and wifi), the corporate network is virtualized and IT support is purchases as a service

Trends:   “ethernet over ethernet” simplification of data centers, servers and network architectures for internet companies getting dramatically simpler, virtualization driving storage needs (snapshotting, provisioning, etc)

One of DELL’s mantras:   “Standardize \ Simplify \ Automate”

See Also…

Check out this post from xconomy which gives a 1000ft summary of the day’s discussions.

I’m advising a first time web entrepreneur on a new service.  This week he discovered a directly competitive service that is much further along and already launched.  He wrote me asking “am i screwed?”

Here’s my response:

The answer to your question is “you are not screwed.”

I believe competition is more good than bad.  To the extent competitors exist and have customers, it validates your direction.

I spent nearly 2 years living in Japan, both deep in the countryside working on a farm and in the heart of Tokyo working in an R&D lab.  Beside that, I studied Japanese at the graduate level and worked in the mobile software arena for a few years.  Someday I’ll write about the experiences I had during those times.

Recently my friends Brendan and the very pregnant Ellie visited Japan so I put together this quick write up of recommendations and things to do.  Enjoy!

Tokyo
I recommend avoiding the Hilton’s, Hyatt’s and other western hotels and going with a local hotel where you can save a little money and enjoy a “quirky” local experience.
These are all centrally located in a good area (i.e. a few blocks walk to a JR and you’ll be able to zip off to anywhere)

http://www.yokohotel.co.jp/english/index.html
http://www.asakusaplaza.jp/english/
http://www.pelican.co.jp/asakusacentralhotel/eng/index.html
http://www.ishinhotels.com/sunroute-akasaka/en/index.html
http://www.granbellhotel.jp/akasaka/index_e.html
http://www.toshicenter.co.jp/e/index.html

I actually stayed for a month in the Yoko Hotel and it was awesome….totally cheesy local experience and free wifi internet.

Looks like they all have english pages you can book from.  Let me know which you choose and I can find a local good restaurant from a local guide site.


Yakiniku in Tokyo
For totally awesome “local” food, have some Yakiniku from any of the vendors under the train tracks near Yurakuchou.
Go to Yurakucho station — 有楽町 and ask for the yakiniku places (焼き肉）

Show this to someone once you get to the station and they’ll point the way:
この辺に焼き肉屋とか焼き鳥屋などが沢山ある場所に近いですけど、はどちらへ歩けばいいですか？



Tsukiji Fish Market　（築地）
Tsukiji is the name of the location within Tokyo as well as the market’s name.
This is a great place to go our your first day in Tokyo, because it’s best to go early (7am) and you’ll be jet-lagged anyway.
You’ll see every kind of fish imaginable and many strange things.  There are simple and cheap restaurants lining the place serving excellent food and (of course) fresh fish.

Unlike Pike Place, this is not a tourist place nor a retail outlet — just a wholesaler’s market — so watch out for forklifts!


Traditional Japanese knives
While in the market, check out some traditional knives at a store called “Aritsugu”.  They are located on the outer perimeter of Tsukiji market.
I’ve been there once and its awesome to see steel knives for every possible cut of a fish imaginable, including huge ones.

Location (show this to anyone at the market and they’ll direct you)
有次［本店］
東京都中央区築地4の13の6


“Houchou” is the word for knife.   In Japanese, this is 包丁

If you don’t mind, I would love to get a knife in the approx $150 ~ $200 range.
Show them this:   商品番号　us011 and say “Kono You na Knife oh Kaitai” meaning “i want to buy a knife like this”.　　このようなナイフを解体です。
That is the item number of a general purpose kitchen knife that’s 10,300 yen (~$110)

I just want a general purpose knife that can be used for slicing sashimi or chopping veggies.

Also, it is a good idea to get a wooden cover for it, called:  鞘 or “Saya” — about $15.

Kamakura
鎌倉 = “Kamakura”.
This day trip outside of Tokyo is highly recommended as a way to see some traditional Japan and historic temples.
Some of the sites you can see

Hokoku-ji Temple — 報国寺 — temple & site of an amazing bamboo forest/garden
Get off at Kamakura sta. on the JR line or Enoden line, and take a Keikyu bus to Jomyoji

Kotoku-in Temple - 高徳院 - giant Buddha statue (second largest in Japan)
Get off at Enoden Hase sta.

Say “Daibutsu wa doko” to ask for directions.  高徳院の大仏の方に行きたい。

There are tons of other temples, but each is a short local train ride away…depends how much time you have but I recommend the above.

Veggie Meal Prepped by Monks
Something I’ve always wanted to do but haven’t had the chance….精進料理 or “Shyoujin Ryori” — a veggetarian multi-course meal prepared by monks. 
It must be arranged in advance.  Think lots of very carefully prepared incredibly fresh veggie dishes with amazing presentation.
Here is a video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKbDWv0W-8o

There is a temple where you can experience this amazing meal.
Name of the temple:  光明寺 — “Kou Myou Ji”
Location:  鎌倉市材木座６−１７−１９　 (Kamakura City, Zai Muku Za, number 6-17-19)
Phone:  ０４６７（２２）０６０３
How to get there: 

This temple was established in the year 1175.

Misc
- must reserve in advance
- may be cash only payment!
- 5000 yen per meal, drinks not included
- arrive at the temple 15 minute before your reservation
- your meal will be 1.5 hours

http://park16.wakwak.com/~komyo-ji/html/shoujinryouri.html

Place to Stay

Traditional Inn = 旅館 = “Ryokan”

The selection of traditional inns in Kamakura is more limited than I thought.　I recommend that you don’t miss out on the experience of staying in a traditional inn at least once.
Surprisingly there are not a lot of Ryokan in Kamakura and the few that I researched online didn’t have any openings.  Better to experience this in Kyoto ($$!) or to take another separate day trip to Hakone, an area known for lots of hotsprings and hotspring spa Ryokan’s.



Helpful Phrases


Sorry, I am pregnant.    Gomen nasai.  Watashi wa ninshin shite imas.  Yoroshiku oney gaishimas.
Say this to get attention and special treatment.

I’m fine (but….)      Daijyoubu desu kedo.
Say this after you’ve generated lots and lots of attention from the “i’m pregnant routine”…use puppy dog eyes when you say this.

Because I’m pregnant, I won’t eat raw foods.    Ninshin des kara, nama na tabemono wa tabemasen.
Say this if you are worried about eating raw things.

Where is the supermarket around here?    kono hen no suuupaaa maaakettoo wa doko des ka?
They have awesome cheap food in supermarkets.  And free samples.