Ventureblog reviews a speech by Reed Hundt, who says that the IRR of dot-com investments is 9%:
"What still made the boom a bust, however, is that the losses were widespread whereas the gains are concentrated in a handful of winners (Ebay, Yahoo!, USAI) and volatility adjusted, 9% is a lousy IRR for so much risk".
Fairly amazing. I don't know if I agree that 9% is low for the risk though - look at the returns of other, less risky asset classes during the same period.
Also talks about innovation. I think the real key is, like I've said before, the massive innovation infrastructure the US has that no other country in the world does:
"Reed correctly focused on entrepreneurism as the engine that really differentiates the U.S. economy from many others. What makes entrepreneurs more common in the U.S. than elsewhere? Culture.
I was mouthing the word "freedom" when Reed said "culture," but close enough, I suppose. If our culture advocates openness, competition and change, what happens if we lose it? This is the danger that Lessig is warning us about, and not enough people are paying attention to."
Food for thought for potential entrepreneurs. Market failures are always fertile ground for cool ventures.