Despite years of hype about startups and the technologies they have tried to commercialize, today's startup Unicorns compare poorly to ones founded before 2000 such as Amazon and Google. They are taking longer to become profitable, and their share price changes lag the Nasdaq. Smartphone apps may be cheap to commercialize but they don't provide the productivity benefits that semiconductors and networking equipment once did. Startups in other technology sectors are experiencing troubled times too.
What are the reasons for this slowdown in productivity improvements and the poor performance of startups? Is this a sign that breakthrough technologies aren't available? Are major changes needed in the management of innovation?