In 1987 and '88, the years these companies were born, the learning curve loomed as steep as Everest. The day of actually selling products was not on the horizon. Yet scientists defected readily from academia and from large corporations weighed down by too many other projects to be interested in one so speculative. The lure of the frontier has always been strong for Americans. Uncharted territory, scientific as well as geographic, has been something to relish as much as fear.
Venture capital makes it possible to mix exploration and business.
You get a scientific discovery that is some kind of fundamental breakthrough and build a company around it. Start with the science and have faith that the knowledge of what the market requires will lead you in the right direction. That was not a consideration, said one longtime researcher in the field. If there are problems, they will set out a way to get around them. That cleverness, though still being challenged, is finally translating into something useful.