I tend to think that play may very well be at the center of the next hundred years of development in education, health, economic development, technology, work, and quality of life. It’s my hope that we will collectively rediscover our essence as human beings — homo ludens (Man the Player). It appears I am not the only one of this mind.
“Play will be to the 21st century what work was to the industrial age — our dominant way of knowing, doing and creating value.”
—Pat Kane, The Play Ethic
Charlie O’Donnell, a Brooklyn area venture capitalist, had this to say in a very recent post The Return of Play:
If I was going to start a venture capital fund around a theme, I’d pick something a little different. Forget Enterprise, or Mobile… It wouldn’t be “networks” or any other standard classification of startup. No geographic focus.
I’d start a fund around “Play”.
What I’m most bullish about is wide open, free-form play—the act of exploring, creating, and being curious.
Scarcity + high demand = Happy VC all too willing to fund playful things and entrepreneurs ready to play.