EFTA00748737.pdf

From: "Al seckel" To: "Jeevacation" <jeevacation®gmail.com> Subject: Re: H! Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:09:42 +0000 Thanks Jeff. Always been only interested in taking on the big questions, guess that's what's interesting... Very much appreciated. I heard from them that it was a very good conversation. Just to clarify, this approach is not only about incentivized prizes. It is equally about grants, as not everything fits or works with a prize model. I hope that is clear. Also, this is about being comprehensive in a vetted way, not just the high end type of prizes and grants, but the tractible bite-sized problems/projects, that an innovative high school student could theoretically solve or carry out. I tend to be a fan of smaller, tractible problems, but you can have both. You did apparently have some questions about the legality of the non-profit/for profit model. This model has been looked at by experts in this area, and while tricky, it can be done. I told them to provide you with a solid legal foundation on this. Jeff Skoll, Pierre Omidymar, and Larry Page/Sergey Brin, etc. all went through this process and created hybrid models, because they make more sense, and are sustainable. Chris Adams, a very smart fellow, who co-founded Participant Media and Productions with Jeff Skoll oversaw the building of their hybrid model, and he is on our board. I am only interested in a working model, as nothing else is meaningful to me. As I told the girls on Saturday, they should listen to what you say very very seriously, because I personally have an enormous amount of respect for your opinions in this. This is not ego driven, but more by my knowledge of the fact that you are one of the very few really smart people that I know, who understands both the entrepreneurial mind set as well as the academic mind set. You like to travel and can easily travel in both worlds. And, as you know, they map the world very differently. My concern for the strictly for profit model, would be that I would have a genuine reluctance from the academic/lay side to freely and greatly leverage their involvement and participation for no upfront participation. I ran a very large and successful non-profit for many years at Caltech, and I did it solely by leveraging the good will of the academic and lay community. That's my bias..., but this process is not driven by either my ego or how I map the world either. So, I am asking you, what would be the model that in your mind's eye would work? It's an interesting challenge to come up with an end-to-end methodology that harvests the needs and priorities of a given space, turns them into bite-sized pieces, crowd sources them, and then has the necessary structure/funding to implement the solutions. Hey, I know you like smart challenges. So, let's have some fun trying to figure it out. In this regard, I would very much like you to think about how to make this model/or find a new model that does work. If we do so, we can do something really meaningful, if not, well, we had a good and challenging time. Cheers, me EFTA00748737 P.S. Had a good walk with Lisa Randall through the Huntington Gardens. She has composed the liberetto for a physics opera, which is being premiered in Paris in June! Have you heard from Christof? We would love to come down. I could suggest some incredible minds to gather, some you don't know, who are off the scale, and who you would really like.... From: Jeevacation <*eevacation mail.com> To: Al seckel < > Sent: Monday, April 13, 2009 5:18:31 AM Subject: Re: H! I tried as you asked. -their presentation address energy- prizes-4 the oceans, pollution All the worlds ills Sent from my iPhone On Apr 9, 2009, at 5:11 PM, Al seckel < wrote: Thanks Jeff. What time works best? From: Jeffrey E in .c'[email protected]> To: Al seckel < > Sent: Thursday, April 9, 2009 2:09:50 PM Subject: Re: H! sat On Thu, Apr 9, 2009 at 5:05 PM, Al seckel < wrote: Hi Jeff, Back from Israel. We have now worked out the business model, and I would like to know if it is possible for our CEO and strategic partner in DC to call you either tomorrow or Monday? Or, what time works best for you? What we have worked out is a very innovative new model, and we did run it by a host of VC's who like it very much. Like to run it now by you. I wouldn't bother you if I didn't think it was meaningful and smart. And, I know that is your sweet spot... Thanks! Appreciatively, me EFTA00748738