Ben Reinhardt is the founder of Speculative Technologies “a nonprofit industrial research lab that’s working to unlock a wonderful, abundant future through technologies that don’t have a home in other institutions.”
He has previously worked at NASA and Bay Area startups/VC firms, founded a startup building robotics for eldercare, and helped entrepreneurs start companies in Singapore. Oh, and he has a Ph.D. in space robotics from Cornell University and is one of the few people with a B.Sc - http://b.sc/. in history!
Ben, who brings his expertise in emerging technologies to the OSV advisory council, joins the show to discuss why tech people don’t do philanthropy, when to trust a credential, why there aren’t more government moonshot programs, why academia is beholden to the new, and MUCH more!
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our Substack - https://newsletter.osv.llc
Important Links:
- Speculative Technologies - https://spec.tech/
- Ben’s Twitter - https://x.com/ben_reinhardt
- Ben’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminzreinhardt/
Show Notes:
0:00:00 Intro
0:01:02 Speculative Technologies: the four-stage roadmap
0:05:23 How early VC funding can affect incentives
0:16:37 From ‘eureka!’ to getting it out into the world
0:21:06 Market failure & institutional consolidation
0:27:47 Where are the moonshot programs?
0:34:39 The skills needed to run a research program
0:39:15 Why tech people don’t do philanthropy
0:43:57 Turning philanthropy into a status game
0:52:17 The hidden importance of materials & manufacturing
1:01:17 When to trust a credential
1:05:29 Agency & American culture
1:13:26 Lean ideas vs. fat ideas
1:19:03 Why academia is beholden to novelty
1:24:34 Ben as World Emperor
Books Mentioned:
- What Works on Wall Street, Fourth Edition: The Classic Guide to the Best-Performing Investment Strategies of All Time; by Jim O’Shaughnessy
- The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that Transform the World; by David Deutsch
- The Road; by Cormac McCarthy
- The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America; by John D. Gartner
- The Coffee Can portfolio - http://csinvesting.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/the-coffee-can-portfolio.pdf; by Robert G. Kirby
