Brenda Vingiello, Sand Hill’s Chief Investment Officer, joined Squawk Box to discuss her thoughts on the latest market trends and market outlook for 2025. This
A New Year’s Toast to the Silicon Valley Entrepreneur
Published Date : January 26, 2024
The literary fox has long been portrayed as the most clever, hungry, and transformational character among his anthropomorphic brethren. First appearing in the stories of Aesop over 2,500 years ago, foxes were either tricksters, flattering a crow’s beautiful singing voice to run away with the cheese that fell from the bird’s mouth; or masters of spin, most famously concluding that he never really wanted those unreachable grapes anyway—forever adding the term ‘sour grapes’ to our lexicon. The fox’s reputation didn’t fare much better in the Middle Ages as Reynard, Chaucer, and Machiavelli all helped perpetuate this anti-establishment stereotype across Europe.
Ultimately, vulpine imagery began to evolve more positively. By the 20th century, the fox had become the protector of the common man, as exemplified by the Robinhood-like protagonist Zorro, whose name is Spanish for ‘fox’. More recently, the fox has even been played as the heroic renegade, such as George Clooney’s character in the movie, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, outwitting the establishment and reinventing himself (‘pivoting’ in Silicon Valley parlance) as the story and environment around him change; and in the lyrics of Taylor Swift’s “I Know Places” as the sought-after foxes outsmart their tenacious hunters.
All of which is an apt metaphor for the entrepreneurial instincts and qualities that we constantly celebrate here in Silicon Valley. Much as the caricature of the fox has evolved over time, so has our perception and appreciation of the value and the importance of those who disrupt, transform, and build the world around us.
Just consider what is likely to happen over the next decade: a billion more people will be connected worldwide to the internet; solar and other clean energy technologies will reach ‘grid parity’ with the cost of fossil fuels; immunotherapy and gene-editing will significantly impact our ‘health span’ and end some of our most debilitating diseases; healthy human life may extend regularly to the 100-year mark; autonomous self-driving vehicles and drones will change city landscapes and our productivity; artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics will evolve and impact our lives as well as our global competitiveness; the shared economy of cars, homes, and services will optimize our resource consumption; and space exploration will accelerate dramatically with the private commercialization of that industry. In the aggregate, one realizes that today’s Silicon Valley innovators rival the era of Einstein, Edison, Wright, and Ford in channeling their ‘inner fox’ to bring a better future forward for everyone.
While the current negative political and geopolitical news of the day may obscure these incredible ongoing developments, it is important to recognize and remember that we are living in a time of truly exponential change. So, as we start this New Year in an uncertain and troubled world, and we gear up for all the known complexities of the year ahead, we wanted to take the opportunity to acknowledge that the world around us is actually on a more positive path than the headlines of the moment may allow us to fully appreciate. Humanity now has the ability and ambition to reach for those proverbial ‘sour grapes’ and turn them into champagne. And that is a not-too-distant future reality that is certainly worth celebrating.
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All video presentations discuss certain investment products and/or securities and are being provided for informational purposes only, and should not be considered, and is not, investment, financial planning, tax or legal advice; nor is it a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Investing in securities involves varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that any specific investment will be profitable or suitable for a particular client’s financial situation or risk tolerance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Individual performance results will vary. The opinions expressed in the video reflect Sand Hill Global Advisor’s (“SHGA”) or Brenda Vingiello’s (as applicable) views as of the date of the video. Such views are subject to change at any point without notice. Any comments, opinions, or recommendations made by any host or other guest not affiliated with SHGA in this video do not necessarily reflect the views of SHGA, and non-SHGA persons appearing in this video do not fall under the supervisory purview of SHGA. You should not treat any opinion expressed by SHGA or Ms. Vingiello as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of general opinion. Nothing presented herein is or is intended to constitute investment advice, and no investment decision should be made based solely on any information provided on this video. There is a risk of loss from an investment in securities, including the risk of loss of principal. Neither SHGA nor Ms. Vingiello guarantees any specific outcome or profit. Any forward-looking statements or forecasts contained in the video are based on assumptions and actual results may vary from any such statements or forecasts. SHGA or one of its employees may have a position in the securities discussed and may purchase or sell such securities from time to time. Some of the information in this video has been obtained from third party sources. While SHGA believes such third-party information is reliable, SHGA does not guarantee its accuracy, timeliness or completeness. SHGA encourages you to consult with a professional financial advisor prior to making any investment decision.
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