I disagreed with Perry about a lot of things, but I never got the impression that when she did things like that it was from maliciousness towards any individual group.
No group except those pesky "engineers".
Those pesky inherently linear thinkers!
https://youtu.be/AMvV8P5S3I4?t=368What do we suppose she means by "the math is right"?
I believe in 2012 she really thought it was possible (in D9 she said, hey we get 8 volts, all we need to charge an iPhone is 5 Volt) .
I think that, as a biology grad, she did not know the difference between Volts and Watts (most people don't, and dBs are even worse).
10 minutes later she landed tons of money, big shot investors, tons of positive media coverage, and theaters full of people cheering.
It was going very well, so it must be true right.
She had 0 experience, and believed it's going to work.
After all that money, cheers, big shot investors, and especially media coverage, it takes great courage to say "hey, sorry, it doesn't work, never had a chance, I just didn't know the difference between volts and watts, true I learned about it in high school, but I was sick that day, here are 10c on your dollar, sorry"
I don't know many people who would do that, would you?
But she could have weaseled out of it, saved face, and still been a success by pivoting the company (as suggested by the engineers) and maybe making something of it all in the end. But no, she insisted on charging mobile phones and consumer gadgets, and that was only going to ever end one way. Only after she got the boot did the company effectively decide to pivot away from consumer charging.
Absolutely true, if she were a great leader, she could have.
But, I can imagine the board meeting just before announcing such a pivot, and I can imagine the headlines, and it takes a great person to go there.
Most people arn't, she isn't.
But if you've built your entire self-image on proving engineers wrong and it's your destiny to bring wireless power to the masses, then no, you're not going to do that.
Absolutely true, if she were a great leader, she could have.
But, I can imagine the board meeting just before announcing such a pivot, and I can imagine the headlines, and it takes a great person to go there.
Most people arn't, she isn't.
I disagree, it was an easy route and one that could have been taken without losing face by most. e.g.
"As you know our ultrasonic charging system is built on fundamental new breakthroughs that we've always said were a platform technology enabling new industries and revolutionizing existing ones. Our engineers have been making such good progress that I've been listening to them and it's clear that transforming the $15 billion car parking sensor market is too good an opportunity to pass up, as we've got world leading technology close to production ready. It's always faster to move into an existing market than creating a new one, and it would be criminal not to take advantage. As such we're excited to announce the addition of a new team dedicated to bringing this to market quickly, and showing us revenue in the near term. Wireless power transfer is right on schedule and we're going to take this time to build out the infrastructure that gives users that seamless magical experience they demand."
But if you've built your entire self-image on proving engineers wrong and it's your destiny to bring wireless power to the masses, then no, you're not going to do that.
Having said that, saying, since 2014 she was just bluntly lying (she must have known watts and dBs by then).
Having said that, saying, since 2014 she was just bluntly lying (she must have known watts and dBs by then).Yes, they must have known it was totally impracticable for years, and should have guessed about 2012!
I hadn't seen this before:
Perry interviewed on The Art Of Manufacturing podcast in June.
I hadn't seen this before:
Perry interviewed on The Art Of Manufacturing podcast in June.
You posted it in June.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/the-ubeam-faq/msg1637441/#msg1637441
I hadn't seen this before:
Perry interviewed on The Art Of Manufacturing podcast in June.
Haven't heard it yet, so I don't know what's in it, but with a hour long interview there's bound to be some gems
She now has a "no arsehole" rule in hiring.
But if you've built your entire self-image on proving engineers wrong and it's your destiny to bring wireless power to the masses, then no, you're not going to do that.
I agree fully, with what you wrote.
I just think she was maneuvered into this position of "engineers are wrong, it's my destiny to bring wireless power", by some "adults" and by her attention seeking personality.
It's stupid but normal for many people to seek a lot of media attention, which helps bring money (as long as it's good attention).
Experienced managers know this will blow up in their face later...
I thought at the influx of serious money in 2014 that "adults" would make sure what I thought were the worst of her characteristics would be tempered and there would be an opportunity for learning and growth when the stakes got serious. I was very wrong. I don't believe that she was manipulated into that attitude, but I do hold the opinion that she was not stopped and was effectively enabled by many of them.
I thought at the influx of serious money in 2014 that "adults" would make sure what I thought were the worst of her characteristics would be tempered and there would be an opportunity for learning and growth when the stakes got serious. I was very wrong. I don't believe that she was manipulated into that attitude, but I do hold the opinion that she was not stopped and was effectively enabled by many of them.
I was quite surprised that she was obviously forced into stepping down, I thought she'd ride this donkey into the ground (and had the shareholder voting power to do so?).
Perhaps she just ran out of puff to fight any more?
I don't see for changing after all this time?
Or perhaps someone was clever enough to subtly convince her that a new tack was the best way to go?
My opinion, and purely a guess - Perry did not leave willingly, and that the last round of had enough dilution of her stock and enough increase of major funder's stock that the overall ratio of equity, or the BoD voting structure, shifted so it could be forced. This seemed to happen shortly after the most recent COO left in May, which I expect was the breaking point for the investors.