Asleep at the Wheel of Creative Destruction: A Thoughtful Critique

This is a well written, thought-provoking article that may haunt us in future years. Maybe later. Maybe sooner. A lot sooner than we think.

Asleep at the Wheel of Creative Destruction - Umair Haque - HarvardBusiness.org: "The venture economy is failing investors, entrepreneurs, the economy, and society. Sound harsh? Think again. Here's how pervasive the venture economy's failure is: Detroit's dying - but we don't have a better auto industry, let alone better energy to power it. Education is failing - but we don't have a more productive system of schools and universities. Healthcare is going down the tubes - but venture investors are partying like its 1969, still focused on blockbuster drugs instead of structural reinvention.

I could go on, but discussing the problems in finance, media, marketing, telecoms, food, housing, and apparel would be beating a (very) dead horse. So here's the point. The hallmark of a failing bank is toxic debt. The flipside is true in venture: the hallmark of a failing venture economy is a significant amount of perpetually uninvested cash, with investment shifting to later and later stages: a clear sign of that venture investors are struggling to, well, make much of an economic difference, much less be disruptive."