My business partner (@jeffreyryanwho) and I were lucky enough to sit down with the founder of Siri (yes, that Siri) today for an hour and talk about the state of tech, the future, and growing the Chicago tech community this afternoon.
He couldn’t say anything about Apple or his work there as I’m sure you’re obviously aware, if you’ve ever known anyone who’s ever worked at the company. It was fascinating listening to him tell the story about how his cell phone rang and it was Steve on the other end, wanting to talk about the technology that Siri had developed (it was already in the app store at the time).
He also told the tale of his first visit to Cupertino Cafeteria and some quips about his time spent negotiating the purchase of his company with Steve Jobs.
I want to respect the conversation, so I’m not going to say too much more, other than the effect it had on me while we were sitting there, based mainly on one comment he made that went something like,
“Nobody is innovating, it’s been two years and still no one has developed technology as good as Siri. But the R&D labs out there are working on amazing things, you just have to find them and [inserting my words here] commercialize this innovation.”
So what did I learn, or maybe just remember, having founded Evolyte nearly 2.5 years ago? Here we go…
The first thing you notice when you step back and look at the current state of technology from 30,000 feet is how archaic and basic it all seems. The most popular technology in the world is a website that lets a few of your friends comment or like a picture or small bit of text.
Are we cavemen? Making cave paintings?
Sure seems that way. Think about the biggest technological revolutions over the past century:
It’s always been about making things more efficient, specifically travel, communication, and connection. This frees up our time.
I don’t know what the future looks like. But I know it will make things more efficient because that’s what technology is great at.
Revolution won’t happen with another social network, with another app. You won’t build something that changes the world or impacts your grandchildren if that’s what you’re building.
I want to do something different.
I want to be surrounded by the most intelligent and passionate people in technology. The ones who speak in time periods of decades, not days. The outcasts toiling away in a lab somewhere. The Steve Wozniaks and Jony Iveys that take a visionary like Steve Jobs to not only see the potential, but also commercialize this innovation.
The homebrew computer clubs of the 2010s, Makers fiddling around with Arduino and 3D printing. The physicists deciphering Quantum Entanglement’s ability to transmit information instantaneously across galaxies. The Biochemists creating cellular computers with proteins.
Or the person who’s bringing each of these disciplines together to build the future, today.
The world is an uninspiring place. TMZ, Bravo, and the world’s fascination with celebrity is killing our curiosity and commitment.
We’ve become soft as culture, like the Romans centuries before us.
Take me back to Kennedy and the space race of the 60s. The iPhone in our pocket is 10x more powerful than the technology used to send a man to the moon, and back, safely, 40 years ago.
The only two great things we’ve accomplished as a global society since then is the iPhone and the interconnectivity of the internet, allowing our minds and interactions to travel just as fast as the space shuttle.
What’s next? I don’t know, but I’ll tell you one thing for certain. Groupon isn’t it.
My only question is, are you trying to be a part of it?
For me, it’s not a job. It’s my life’s work. It’s the legacy I’ll leave my family and friends. The only problem is after 30 years, I still suck at it. I need another 30 years before I can even start, but I’m willing to make that sacrifice.
And maybe it never comes, maybe I never help more than a few people. But I’ll know that the time I’ve spent here had purpose. And I’ll leave having left it all out on the field.
If these words spoke to you, or you agree with any part of it, I want to know you. Please email me so we can get started with this future today:
sean.everett@evolyte.com
I hope you’re out there, because evolyte was founded on two simple words:
Evolution + Light
And whether I continue to do it under that, or another umbrella, no longer matters, as long as I get to do it.
