![]() Rather, they’re building off the momentum of an unsuspected product that’s humbly but quickly reshaping city streets around the world: they’re reinventing the bicycle. But unlike the Segway, they’re not starting from scratch. And right now, there is a whole cadre of talented technologists applying ingenuity and effort towards making this vision real. As a venture capitalist I can tell you with certainty: if you ever want to know what the future holds, just follow the entrepreneurs. ![]() As noted by Silicon Valley investor Paul Graham: “people don’t want to be seen riding them.” Changing the world is never an easy undertaking-especially if nobody wants your product.īut big ideas die hard, and the story that inspired the Segway might be entering an exciting new chapter. While there are many reasons the Segway failed, perhaps the simplest explanation sums it up best. It’s hard not to admire the boldness and authenticity of that vision, and I, like Dean, think it rings just as true today. We thought it would be a big deal, and I still do. What if we could tell you that you could get from point A to point B in the city at the same average speed as your car, but with the same mobility as a pedestrian, in a manner 100 times more environmentally friendly, and close to 100 times as energy efficient? We thought that might make a big difference in helping cities become more fun, more environmentally friendly, cleaner, and safer. In a world now screaming towards urbanization… the idea that we still get around with a machine that was invented 100 years ago to get between towns and cities and to railroad stations seems absurd.īut what if you could say to people – “Hey, this environment in the city, it was built for pedestrians!” That’s why these buildings are close together, that’s why you look outside and see thousands of people. It’s environmentally catastrophic, it’s inefficient, it’s unhealthy, and it defiles the original intent of cities. Yet, in almost every major city… all of what should be beautiful pedestrian space… is either a parked car, a parking garage, or a row of running cars, bumper to bumper, with people sucking up each other’s exhaust, creeping along in 3,000 pound, 20 foot vehicles with on average one person inside. I don’t think people have yet come to grips with the fact that in most of the large cities of the world, almost everybody spends most of their time going just a few blocks, or at most a mile, between where they live and where they work. This is the inspiring original idea behind the Segway that got buried amidst the cacophony of rumors and headlines and forgotten with the passing of time: Rather, Dean passionately shared the vision that created so many early believers. ![]() It wasn’t an excuse for failure, or, as might be expected of an engineer, a matter-of-fact list of reasons why the product really is so great. When I sat down with Dean and asked him what the world least understood about the Segway, he gave a surprising response. Now, more than a decade after its release, the product has been all but forgotten, relegated to niche uses like police patrols, city tours, and a nerdy take on polo. In stark contrast to expectation, sales of the Segway were a massive disappointment. The Segway seemed on a fast path to be a very big deal. When word of a wondrous new invention and its high-profile supporters leaked prematurely to the press, “IT” became the subject of rampant speculation and hype, the media sensation culminating in a live unveiling on national television. ![]() Both met privately with Dean on numerous occasions to offer counsel and contemplate their involvement with the project (and would go on record affirming their excitement). Tech luminaries Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos thought the idea worthy of an even more valuable investment: their time. Famous venture capitalist John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins bankrolled the effort with close to $40 million at an unthinkable early valuation of half a billion dollars. Code-named “Ginger” during its secret development in the late 1990’s, this two-wheeled, self-balancing electric vehicle held the promise to revolutionize transportation and reshape entire cities. While his achievements are many (he holds over 440 patents, devised the wearable drug infusion pump, and founded one of the world’s largest youth science organizations), he is perhaps most widely recognized for his biggest flop: the Segway. Several years ago, I had the great fortune to interview famous inventor Dean Kamen.
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