the economics profession has long recognized two great institutions of modern capitalism: markets, which coordinate activity via price signals and arm’s-length contracts; and corporations, which do so by assembling large teams led by top-down managers. But economists have focused less on the middle ground that Khosla inhabits: the venture-capital networks that lie somewhere between markets and corporations. And yet networks of venture capitalists deserve closer attention. By means of Khosla-style maverick experiments, they have delivered more progress in applied science than any kind of rival:
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