Monday, December 26, 2016
Reflections On 2016: John Greathouse, Investor, Professor at UC Santa Barbara
This holiday season, we are again sharing the reflections on the year from Southern California's technology community. This contribution is from John Greathouse, a longtime venture capitalist and also a professor at UC Santa Barbara, who was instrumental in Computer Motion's initial public offering and the sale of GoToMeeting to Citrix. John is also very involved in providing advice to young startups and entrepreneurs. You'll be able to see all the many 2016 reflections here as they are posted.
What was the biggest news from you or your firm this year?
John Greathouse: We opened up our practice in San Diego by investing in Zingle and Raken. I am very excited with the prospects of the San Diego market, as it reminds me of Santa Barbara circa 2005.What is the biggest lesson you learned this year?
John Greathouse: Not a new lesson learned, but I was reminded during the past year of the importance of working with people you trust.
What is your favorite technology gadget, device, or innovation you ran across this year?
John Greathouse: I am a Luddite when it comes to consumer gadgets! I finally bought noise cancelling headphones (which have been around forever) and I have been blown away by the degree to which they make airplane travel more tolerable. Welcome to the 1990's!
What do you think will have the biggest impact on the technology industry in 2017?
John Greathouse: I have nothing earth shattering to report, as I think most folks are plugged into the trends that matter. That said, I did enjoy this talk by a16z's Peter Levine regarding the future of cloud computing.
John has held a number of senior positions with successful startups and has been a Venture Capitalist for the past decade. At Computer Motion and GoToMeeting, John spearheaded transactions which generated more than $350 million of shareholder value, including Computer Motion's initial public offering and the sale of GoToMeeting to Citrix. He is a Professor Of Practice at UC Santa Barbara, where he teaches courses on New Venture Creation and Entrepreneurial Sales.