@theventure — 14x breakout

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THE VENTURE THIS GUY INVENTED ETHERNET AND BUILT A $2.7 BILLION COMPANY!

@theventure

106.4K followers · usually 8.6K views a post

Views

112.9K

Likes

5.8K

Comments

162

View velocity

+16.7K views over 13.2d · ~1.3K/day · 12 observations

Promoted product

Ethernet

Why it worked

The video tells a compelling rags-to-riches story of innovation and entrepreneurship, focusing on a foundational technology (Ethernet) that is ubiquitous today. The narrative of overcoming corporate inertia and building a billion-dollar company resonates with audiences interested in business and technology success stories.

Summary

The video tells the story of Bob Metcalfe, who invented Ethernet while working at Xerox. When Xerox failed to commercialize his invention, Metcalfe quit, founded 3Com, and successfully sold Ethernet hardware, eventually selling the company to HP for $2.7 billion.

Structure

1Introduction of Bob Metcalfe and his invention of Ethernet
2The problem at Xerox: connecting personal computers
3Metcalfe's solution and its initial ownership by Xerox
4Metcalfe's departure from Xerox and founding of 3Com
5Commercial success of 3Com selling Ethernet hardware
6The eventual sale of 3Com to HP for $2.7 billion

Product placement

The Venture: appears as a watermark/logo in the corner of the video. Removing it would not change what happens in the video. Xerox: appears as a building exterior and is mentioned as the company Bob worked for. Removing it would change the narrative of the video. Ethernet: is the invention being discussed and demonstrated. Removing it would change the entire topic of the video. 3Com: appears as a company name on a product and a banner, and is mentioned as the company Bob started. Removing it would change the narrative of the video. HP: appears as a company name in a news article headline. Removing it would change the narrative of the video.

Original caption

This guy invented Ethernet and built a $2.7 billion company! In 1973, Bob Metcalfe is a young researcher at Xerox with a problem: the office is filling up with personal computers, but there's no way to connect them to a single printer. So Bob writes a solution in a memo, a system that lets machines share one line, all talking over what he calls "the ether." He names it Ethernet and gets it working within months. But Xerox owns it, and they just sit on it, going nowhere. Bob realizes his invention is trapped. So instead of letting one company hoard it, he quits, then convinces tech companies to release Ethernet as a free, open standard anyone can use. ✓ Starts his own company, 3Com ✓ Sells the one thing everyone now needs: the cards that plug computers into Ethernet ✓ Gives away the invention and sells the shovels ✓ Takes the business public as it explodes Computers with no way to connect → invents Ethernet in months → Xerox sits on it → gives it away as an open standard → sells the cards everyone now needs → 3Com sells to HP for $2.7 billion. Sometimes you make more giving the invention away and selling what everyone needs to use it. #Business #3Com #Tech #Success #Entrepreneur