Career reflections from dot-com chaos to ‘bonkers’ Elon Musk – Rory Cellan-Jones

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UKTN

Technology, Entrepreneur, Tech, Business, Hr, Sales, Uktech, Investing, Funding, Entrepreneurship, Marketing

5 • 6 Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2023

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Rory Cellan-Jones, former BBC technology correspondent, revisits career highlights interviewing the biggest names in tech, from Elon Musk to Bill Gates. The writer and author recalls the frenzy of the dot-com bubble in the UK – and explains the similarities and differences between the plummeting valuations of startups today.

Cellan-Jones left the BBC in 2021 after four decades at the broadcaster, spending the last 14 of those years as technology correspondent. During his career, he witnessed landmark tech moments, including the launch of the iPhone. Elsewhere on the show, Cellan-Jones explains why cryptocurrency is "infested with snake oil merchants", shares his thoughts on the metaverse and explains why there are "question marks" over how well large language models will be integrated into businesses.

In 2019, Cellan-Jones announced via Twitter that he had been diagnosed with early Parkinson's disease. He has since written and spoken about living with the disease and engaged with health tech startups developing tools to alleviate symptoms. He has written several books, including ‘Dot.Bomb’, which tracked the rise and fall of startups in the dot-com crash, and more recently a memoir. Since leaving the BBC, Cellan-Jones has turned his attention to writing, podcasting and adopting a nervous rescue dog from Romania with his wife – the economist Diane Coyle.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The startup scene, the dot-com scene in 99, 2000 in the UK, was very, very sketchy.
0:13.0	A bunch of companies with not much to them, basically, apart from that they were selling online.
0:19.0	But making people take the leap from the real world to the virtual world
0:24.6	and feeling comfortable in the virtual world for extended periods of time
0:28.6	still seems hugely challenging to me.
0:31.6	The interview didn't disappoint.
0:33.6	I thought it was at first because he suddenly turned up looking slightly shambolic and
0:38.4	low key. But then he began uttering phrases like when we are a multi-planet species.
0:47.2	From the first time founders to the funds that back them, innovation needs different.
0:52.8	Our episode partner, HSBC Innovation Banking, is proud to accelerate
0:57.5	growth for tech and life science businesses, creating meaningful connections and opening up a world
1:03.1	of opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors alike. Discover more at www.h.hsbcInsbc innovation banking.com slash EN-GB.
1:18.4	Hello and welcome to the UKTN podcast, a weekly chat with the movers and shakers of the UK tech industry and the destination for
1:29.0	all things UK tech related. And this week I'm delighted to be joined by a personal friend
1:35.0	and colleague of mine and a household name to many of you, Rory Keflin Jones, ex-BBC
1:40.4	technology correspondent and author. Welcome Rory. Hi, Jane. Very excited to be talking to you again.
1:46.8	It looks like you've moved out of the kitchen where you used to broadcast from, but it's all looking very smart where you are.
1:52.8	Yes, we used to do a show on the World Service called Tech Tent. My kitchen featured heavily in it,
1:57.9	as did my cat, and my cat I've had to put out because he's a bit mewowy today.
2:02.1	So I'm afraid there'll be no interference from the cat today.
2:06.1	Well, my dog is very barky, but she's a floor down.
2:09.9	So probably won't be audible.
	...

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