A Revolutionary Entrepreneur On Happiness, Money, And Raising A Supermodel

A lucky few can say their work helped spur a fundamental shift in the economic model of modern societies. If all goes well, Robin Chase may get to do it twice. A decade before Airbnb and Uber, Chase helped kickstart the "collaborative economy" by co-founding Zipcar, which became the world's largest car-sharing service. The big idea was to replace the enable convenient access to a valuable good (in this case, a vehicle) without requiring ownership. Now Chase and others have founded Veniam. Their technology powers mesh networks, which provide a new way for people and things (devices, cars, appliances, etc.) to connect to each other and to the internet. The holy grail: ubiquitous no-cost wireless internet access that isn't controlled by the telecom giants. Fred Wilson, one of the most influential and successful technology venture capitalists of the last decade, announced last month that his firm has invested in Veniam. "We are consciously trying to see the future and seed the future," he wrote. Chase's story is colorful. She was raised in the Arab world, the daughter of an American diplomat. She is the mother of three children, including one world-famous supermodel. And her career has seen lows as well as highs. "I was a complete shell," she says of one tumultuous period. "It took me, honestly, probably a year to recover." I spoke with Chase for Sophia, a HuffPost project to collect life lessons from fascinating people. She shared practical wisdom about relationships, ra...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news