Larry Bock

Lawrence A. "Larry" Bock (September 21, 1959 – July 6, 2016) was an American entrepreneur who has aided in starting or financing 50 early stage growth companies,^[1] with a combined market value of more than $70 billion.^[2]

Early life

Bock was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Chappaqua to parents Ulrike Proctor and Richard Bock. Larry had one older sibling Steven who was deaf. He received a degree in biochemistry from Bowdoin College and an MBA from UCLA. After school, he worked for Genentech.^[3] Bock is a donor, co-founder, and the executive director of USA Science and Engineering Festival.^[4][5]

Blindness

Bock suffered from Stargardt disease, an inherited form of macular degeneration that causes progressive loss of vision. He was legally blind by the age of 29.^[6]

Death

Bock died from cancer on July 6, 2016.^[7]

Career

Bock was highlighted as a "keystone species" in the ecosystem of Silicon Valley in the book The Rainforest.^[8] A keystone species, in the innovation context, is someone who connects people who would benefit from working together, but who would not work together under normal circumstances because of trust, distance, and/or cultural barriers.

Bock was previously a CEO of Nanosys, where he helped to raise $55 million in funding.^[9] Bock was also a special limited partner with Lux Capital.^[10]

Bock founded multiple companies:

• Illumina, a biotechnology company for genetic products
• Nanosys, a nanotechnology company for optics and batteries
• Pharmacopeia biotechnology, a company investigating small molecule combinatorial chemistry
• Idun Pharmaceuticals, a company developing drugs targeting apoptosis
• Caliper Life Sciences, which aids in drug discovery.

USA Science and Engineering Festival

Bock worked with Lockheed Martin to start the first festival in San Diego.^[11] It was later moved to Washington D.C. It premiered on the National Mall but was later moved to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center where it attracted more than 350,000 participants in 2016, making it the largest event housed in the convention center.

References

1. "Larry Bock Memorial Statement" (PDF). USA Science and Engineering Festival. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
2. "An Homage to Larry Bock, Who Had God's Hand on His Shoulder". Xconomy. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
3. Thornton, Kelly (August 29, 2012). "Mr. Bock Goes To Washington And Takes The Science Expo With Him". Retrieved December 5, 2014.
4. "Larry Bock". luxcapital. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
5. "Join Festival Co-founder Larry Bock and Stem Experts for e-week twitter chat". USA Science Festival. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
6. "The Extraordinary Vision of Larry Bock". Xconomy. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
7. Robbins, Gary (July 8, 2016). "Larry Bock dies at 56; biotech entrepreneur launched science festivals". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
8. Hwang, Victor and Greg Horowitt (2012). The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley. Los Altos Hills: Regenwald. pp. 68–75. ISBN 978-0615586724.
9. Bock, Larry (2004). "Following Mr. Robinson's Advice: The Story of Nanosys". Nanotechnology Law & Business. 1.1: 91–97. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
10. Nour, David (March 20, 2009). The Entrepreneur's Guide to Raising Capital (1st ed.). Praeger. pp. 8, 17, 46. ISBN 978-0313356025.
11. Tamura, Leslie (October 25, 2010). "Festival on the Mall challenges young and old to think scientifically". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 8, 2014.