If Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Larry Page & Steve Jobs were Sri Lankans

Warren Buffett (L) speaks while seated beside Microsoft founder Bill Gates (R) at the opening of a new Dairy Queen.

As a thirteen year old kid I queried my then science teacher, "can’t we use the running trains to produce electricity". My question was based on few things;

• I saw the dynamos attached to foot cycles generating little electricity to lit front lamp
• Heard that hydro power plants too generating the electricity in a same manner
• Most of the Sri Lankan trains ran with either one or two diesel powered engines with 6 – 12 passenger cars by that time, my whole idea was to attach a super efficient dynamos to these cars and generate enough electricity to power the engines

By hearing this idea, my science teacher laughed at me…

He said it can’t be done and it’s not practical…

But I am glad to see the hybrid vehicles running on the roads nowadays…
Some research papers too started discussing the same method;

1. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/420734/subway-trains-to-generate-power-for-the-grid/
2. http://www.ijcns.com/pdf/8.pdf

By the age of sixteen, I queried my computer tutor whether we can host a website using a dynamic IP… with a smile, he mentioned the fact that we can’t and it need a fixed IP and blah.. blah.. blah..

In 1999 world saw the first router with the Dynamic DNS support and it answered my question…

When I was doing the A/Ls (by age of 18), I’ve asked my Chemistry and Physics teachers, whether we can use radioactive materials (either Thorium or Uranium or Plutonium) to run passenger vehicles… Again the answer was very simple and said “No”… Their answer was, “Can you fix such a large reactor to a car?”…

But this too became possible thanks to the extensive research:
http://www.caradvice.com.au/132921/the-thorium-powered-car-eight-grams-one-million-miles/

These are just examples of “How lack of research and support affects the futures of different countries”. Some countries and individuals are so lucky and having the access to all the supportive sources while some struggles to get the concept out of the box.

Now the country is talking about a “Knowledge Economy” and ”One Billion Dollar” revenue within few years time. Sadly there is no support for the young entrepreneurs or to the IT/IS industry.

1. None of the local Banks or the VCs having the desire to fund real startup concepts
2. All taks about risks, but no one is willing to take the risks
3. Except few sharks, no one shows real interest to create a start up fund, actively invest on the real seed scenarios than those who known to their circles
4. Country’s only genuine incubator facility collapsed or discontinue their operations after 3 years of operations
5. Laws and regulations affecting the real estates too hurting the entrepreneurs (Banks are valuating the lands and properties using centuries old calculations. Lets say you bought a property worth 15 million and reach the bank next day to mortgage it. They will value it at well below the 10 million and then check your credit worthiness before granting the loan. If this property comes under vihara devala act, your luck will be “0”.
6. Then let’s talk about the stock market. Everyone knows the secret of Warren Buffet’s success is from the stock market. In Sri Lanka, this sector too is corrupted and full of cronies. If a dictator (someone dictates the CSE) notices someone (a new comer) gains sharply, there will be a master plan to chase him out from the market.

Let’s get back to the topic. If these guys were Sri Lakans, none of them would achieve their goals and would become success stories. 😷