What Greentech Can Learn From the Segway

Blaise Zerega misses $4/gallon gasoline: The Segway is a huge success–as a technology product. But even as high gas prices have increased sales, as reported by WSJ today, it’s hard to term it a business success. And for that reason, greentech start-ups and their backers ought to examine what’s gone wrong.

Launched amid enormous hype in 2001, Dean Kamen’s splendid invention has become a textbook example of how hard it is to challenge the energy and transportation industries. Relying on an electrical charge and with a 25-mile range, the Segway seemed a perfect solution for short commutes and errands around town. Not so fast.

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