Why did you want to get involved with Introspective Systems?
I’ve known Kay and Caryl since they were in the Top Gun accelerator program in 2012 during my time running MCED. Caryl is off the charts brilliant and Kay is a take-no-prisoners entrepreneur, which makes for a fierce founding duo. I invested a bit of money in back in 2013, and like some of the fine Bordeaux in my wine cellar, they took a little while to mature. But 2017 has been a year of tremendous progress. So like all smart investors who look for the Big Mo – momentum that is – I jumped in with both feet in December.
How do you see your role as Board Chair evolving at the company?
I’ve evolved from a small investor and occasional advisor, to lead investor and constant advisor, and now to Chair. The short-term objective is to help the company get the funding needed to paddle onto the simultaneous waves of Edge Computing, AI Everywhere, and Complex Computing. After the board adds investors and industry experts, I’ll no doubt be pivoting to whatever is needed next to make the company successful.
What do you think the IoT and AI landscape will look like in the next 24 months?
They’ll be merging a lot, for one. Edge computing for IoT will go from pilots to full deployment, and AI at the Edge for IoT makes a huge amount of sense. Filtering data is a great AI use case: come up with the actionable information locally via AI, and don’t flood the cloud with petabytes. Special-purpose Machine Learning systems will start to be integrated into coherent enterprise-wide systems. And the limitations of Machine Learning will stimulate integration of a broader suite of AI tools that rightfully includes the full data analytics toolbox.
Can you tell us about Four Colors of Money for Entrepreneurs?
Sure! It’s a blog, video channel and soon a podcast to provide entrepreneurs a 360-degree view of their funding options. Many successful entrepreneurs end up using all four colors of money to launch and grow – bootstrapping, grants, debt, and equity. But since most information sources have their biases – like “VC is the only way to go,” or “use online debt since banks will turn you down” – I’m trying hard to level the playing field.
Who do you think I’d have a better blind date with, Siri or Alexa?
I’ve got an occasional relationship with Siri, but Apple isn’t known for playing well with others. I’m currently blind to Alexa so I’d say go for it! The Amazon ecosystem sounds like a perfect match for xGraph. The one in Brazil, that is.
