Seth Coe-Sullivan
Age: 29
Company: QD Vision
Funding: More than $10 million from Highland Capital Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners, and OI Ventures.
May, 2005, was a big month for Seth Coe-Sullivan. Right after defending his thesis at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and receiving his PhD. in computer science, he landed $6 million in venture capital in a first round of funding for his company QD Vision. The company aims to develop displays using Quantum Dots —tiny semiconductors that, like so-called light-emitting diodes, emit their own light. But unlike LEDs, Quantum Dots are grown in a lab, not manufactured in a chip factory. Gather them together and you can make inexpensive flat-panel displays that are as bright and beautiful as conventional displays, but cost less to make, and consume less battery power. Down the road, Quantum Dots could be used in TV and PC displays.
Lesson learned: “If you think you have a good idea that could make for a good business, surround yourself with smart people, and go for it,” Coe-Sullivan says.
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