Response to Chapter 14, 19, & 22

When I first picked up this book I thought I would be reading some boring old book on technology, and as it turns out its not half bad. The book details many recent aspects since it document's events leading up to two years ago which I found much interest in. As a business major I was more interested in the last readings in chapter 14 of A History of Silicon Valley since its focus was on investment banking and law.

Chapter 14 explains the importance behind having lawyers and investment bankers supporting the engine of venture capitalists, as they should. One quote that really stood out to me is in fact on the very first page of the chapter, as it captured my attention. The quote discusses the importance of investment banking by quoting VC Tom Perkin's who said "They're a necessary evil." This quote almost made me laugh because when you think of anyone who is working with millions and millions of dollars, you almost create this money hungry Wolf on Wall Street character in your mind, so implying there is evil behind it makes you think its almost comically written for the next portion your about to read. However the true evil behind them is that since most of these banks are dominated by conglomerate corporations such as Goldman & Sachs, there is in fact a huge piece of wall street that plays into it; so much that the lawyers defending these companies almost had there own treasury stocks, if you will..

Later in chapter 19 the book details the early failures from an analytical perspective. One attempt in the case studies was to document the failure of Apple making, what you could call the very first iPad in the 1990s. However this 6,000 product was in fact called Figaro, and the demand curve for technology had not grown enough to create the desire for people to drop that much money on Figaro. Personally, I found it really interesting to find Apple taking its projects to abandoned warehouse, because its almost as if they are SEAL team 6 briefing before a meeting. Its funny how the book phrases its facts to appear almost comical. Later in chapter 22 the book details the failures of electronic startups in the valley. It is said that "25% of these startups would fail after two years" but interestingly enough the startups that did well were the ones that shared the same man manufacturers in other countries.