Why Great Technology Companies Succeed into Oblivion
Andy Rappaport
August Capital
About the talk:
Through the entire hisory of the computer industry, corporate strategy -- and government technology policy -- has been driven by the misguided notion that core technology leadership and scale captures and sustains market leadership. Ironically, though, the more common technology becomes the less it matters. Thus the great paradox: Even as the US computer companies have systematically given up their leadership -- and sometimes even participation -- in semiconductor manufacturing, displays, memories, and, someday, microprocessors and operating systems, the industry as a whole is becoming more globally dominant.
So what, then, really matters? And why do great companies, from Cray, to Silicon Graphics, to Motorola, and almost inevitably, Intel, Microsoft, and Cisco, confuse achievement with value? This talk will examine how technology companies really create value, and what this implies about how successfukl companies must think about research, competition, and alliance.
About the speaker:
Andy Rappaport is a partner with August Capital, a Menlo Park venture capital firm, focused on active investments in early stage information technology companies. Before joining August in 1996, Andy was president of The Technology Research Group, a strategy consulting firm he founded in 1984.
In 1991, Andy co-authored the controversial Harvard Business Review article, "The Computerless Computer Company," which won the McKinsey Award for article of the year in 1991.
Andy has been a founder of and investor in many successful Silicon Valley companies, and currently serves on the boards of ten public and private companies, including MMC Networks, Silicon Image, Mach One Communications, Frequency Technology, Genoa, and Wireless Online. He attended Princeton University.
Contact information:
Andy Rappaport
August Capital
2480 Sand Hill Rd., Suite 101
Menlo Park, CA 94025
650-234-9900
650-234-9910
andyr@augustcap.com