The next generation of radiation used to treat cancer - particle accelerators that shoot a very intense yet precise proton beam, causing less damage to the surrounding tissue — is already in the marketplace, but at only about 40 working facilities in the world. The challenge? Design future treatment centers to work in a much smaller space (currently they are housed in a huge warehouse like room) and cost a lot less than the current $100 million price tag.
I invested in this Madison, Wisconsin-based startup, Compact Particle Acceleration Corporation (CPAC), a few years ago. The good news is that the secret sauce still seems to be encouraging, and there is ongoing technological progress and genuine hope that the first CPAC unit will be commercially available in 2015.
The bad news? It’s taking forever, and it understandably requires a ton of money to get something to a finished product. Not to mention, of course, FDA approval, medical insurance reimbursement codes, getting through the long sales cycles at hospitals, etc.. It’s a topic that I didn’t cover particularly well in the chapter on angel investing in my book. If you decide to invest in a medical device/drug discovery/diagnostic startup, prepare yourself for much more often than not a very long ride, requiring lots and lots of follow on rounds to keep the business going and to finally have completed product, sold to customers around the globe.
In my book ‘What I Really Think - The Business Chapters’, in the chapter On Investing, I make the point: “It’s hard enough to make money in the stock market without the inescapable backdrop of the cyclical market and sector crashes due to the greed and incompetence of Wall Street bankers.”
These past couple of days we’ve seen similar ineptitude play out in the banking industry by none other than Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, who was arguably the one top guy who escaped The Stink forever now attached to those cast of characters who back in 2008-2009 almost took our country to it’s knees. To his credit, Dimon’s bank had a nearly unblemished record during the financial crisis.
So much for staying ‘clean’; Dimon just screwed up royally, and is now destined to have The Stink for the rest of his career. He will forever now have a black mark on his legacy.
Jamie Dimon is one of those incredibly smart guys who possesses a certain swagger. It works well for him when things go reasonably well. But after announcing Thursday that under his watch, JP Morgan took a $2 billion loss as a result of portfolio hedging that got completely out of control, Dimon now fits the mold of the stereotypical banker who has pleaded over the years for less regulation, only to become another poster boy for just why we need oversight. What is it about their inner workings that they have to push the envelope until they screw up? They can’t seem to help it; it’s almost like it’s part of their DNA.
The Volker Rule is a regulatory law meant to prevent overly risky trading. Dimon himself, along with his hired lobbyists, went regularly to Washington and argued strenuously, successfully, for loopholes that would allow for trades like the ones that led to what will turn out to be a ONE BILLION DOLLAR swing in net income performance for the quarter at JP Morgan.
It’s egg! Jamie Dimon has admitted as much. It will be interesting to see how he spins it in the months ahead and when he will no doubt be called to testify again to Congress.
…remember just how much tender loving care goes into growing and harvesting it, and getting it to your market. Today had the opportunity to tour an organic farm run by Nick Lapham, fellow board member at the American Bird Conservancy, prior to our meeting. Wow, is this process labor intensive. I was blown away with the attention and passion of the people on his farm.
Last night heard a chorus of Boreal Owls for ABA #636, then made the pre-dawn trip to see dozens of Greater Sage-Grouses dance and strut in front of six hens. ABA #646. Here’s a photo from Google Images of their display:
Heading back to Walden, at sunrise:
After seeing #644 (Gunnison Sage-Grouse) at the crack of dawn at a lek near Gunnison, we headed through the mountains back toward Denver to check out Boulder, before we’ll head north to hopefully see a Greater Sage-Grouse tomorrow morning.
