Venture capital and the future of innovation
Episode description
Sebastian Mallaby is one of the world’s most admired and respected financial storytellers. In his new book The Power Law he draws on unprecedented access to insiders and legendary figures of the venture capital community to tell the origin stories of the VC-backed enterprises that have changed our world in recent decades, from Apple and Google to eBay and Alibaba.
The key to understanding the venture capitalist mindset, he explains, is to grasp that they operate according to an enduring financial ‘power law’ which justifies big bets on ‘moon-shot’ projects due to the outsize rewards of rare success.
But can we trust the path of innovation and the global economy to a tribe of maverick risk-takers? The VC community is notorious for its lack of gender and racial diversity. High profile scandals, toxic cultures and profound imbalances of power and equity have soured the public mood towards the tech-industrial complex that it has hugely shaped.
Is a VC-funded future compatible with the pursuit of a more democratic and inclusive economy and society?
Mallaby insists venture capital has an important role to play in liberating the finance and expertise that will create the transformative scientific and technological innovations that will improve all our lives.
Indeed, he argues, VC networks combine and complement the roles of markets and corporations to form an essential ‘third pillar’ of modern capitalism. And so it’s more important than ever to understand how VCs think and operate so their skills can be harnessed more effectively for the global common good.
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