Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Timothy C. Draper is the Founder and a Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. He currently serves on the boards of DoAt, Glam, Prosper, and Miartech. Other previous successes at DFJ include: Skype, Overture.com, Baidu, Parametric Technology, Hotmail, PLX Technologies, Digidesign, and hundreds of others.
Draper also recently founded Draper University of Heroes, an immersive boarding school in San Mateo, California for students 18-24 years old, dedicated to encouraging proactive entrepreneurship. Previously, Draper launched the DFJ Global Network, an international network of early-stage venture capital funds with offices in over 30 cities around the globe. He also serves on the boards of Skype, SocialText, Project Y, MailFrontier and Chroma Graphics.
He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Related Links: www.dfj.com
Last Updated: Mon, Jan 7, 2013
In this lively presentation, Tim Draper, managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, shares his global experiences funding entrepreneurial heroes who "break down walls." Draper shares attributes that support viable entrepreneurial environments, and encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to attack established monopolies and to never fear making mistakes.
Three Silicon Valley dealmakers - Tony Perkins, CEO of AlwaysOn; Tim Draper, Founder and Managing Director of Draper, Fisher Jurvetson; and Michael Moe, Founding Partner of ThinkEquity - discuss the evolutions in online media, the power of partnerships, and other next-generation opportunities for the global marketplace.
In this lively presentation, Tim Draper, managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, shares his global experiences funding entrepreneurial heroes who "break down walls." Draper shares attributes that support viable entrepreneurial environments, and encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to attack established monopolies and to never fear making mistakes.
DFJ Managing Director Tim Draper talks about how his firm first began to see new opportunities across the globe, based on the interconnectedness of people in an ever shrinking world.
Tim Draper, managing director of DFJ, shares a story of an entrepreneur's committed mindset to making things happen, even when it means breaking the product to do it.
DFJ Managing Director Tim Draper relates his first forays as an investor in China, including how early opportunity recognition led his firm to a series of successful deals.
Tim Draper, managing director of DFJ, recalls the experience of traveling in Russia, and learning about the generational challenges to that country's willingness to embrace entrepreneurship.
Tim Draper, managing director of DFJ, explains his passion for backing heroic entrepreneurs who "break down walls." Draper also encourages entrepreneurs to look for opportunities to take on established monopolies.
"I think the world needs more mistakes," says Tim Draper, managing director of DFJ. According to Draper, the current education system too generously rewards perfection and not making mistakes, which runs counter to creating a society full of world-changing entrepreneurs.
The economic depression of early 2009 is a great boon for venture capitalists, and an even better time for aspiring entrepreneurs. So says Tim Draper, Founder and a Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, who points out that some of the globe's most dominant brands were initiated during depressions and recessions, benefiting from thinner competition and a world afraid to move. If future business leaders have an idea on how to flip the status quo, this, says Draper, is the time to pursue it.
If pursuing problem-solving entrepreneurship or disruptive technologies, says Founder and a Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson Tim Draper and ThinkEquity Founding Partner Mchael Moe, make it a grand solution to an enormous problem. Flipping an existing infrastructure on its heels, employing a large number of people, and bringing true innovation to the marketplace will be its own reward. Aiming for a smaller target is just a waste of your time. 
If 30-40 percent of our time engaging in media is spent online, then why are only 6-7 percent of all ad dollars going toward online media? Tony Perkins, CEO of AlwaysOn, Michael Moe, Founding Partner at ThinkEquity, and Tim Draper, Founder and a Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, all comment on how Madison Avenue must learn to bridge the gap between advertising dollars and new media. Furthermore, Draper quotes a case study of DFJ's investment in website Glam; that despite no initial business plan, new revenue-sharing models with bloggers made it the world's 10th largest media site. The panel also points out that for the next generation, YouTube is a more important brand than NBC.
Are VC's fearful of open access and giving away great technologies? Tony Perkins, CEO of AlwaysOn, asks ThinkEquity Founding Partner Michael Moe and Founder and Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson Tim Draper if they are fearful of free and open and its possible loss of profits. He cites iPhone applications as an example of great ideas with no clear vision on monetization. Draper explains that free tools are a necessity of viral marketing. In addition, the panel reviews the sales of mammoth online clients - Hotmail, YouTube, Skype, and possibly, Twitter - worth billions of dollars without a penny of revenue, thought to pay for themselves with their dynamic marketing impact.
Both parties are better off at the end of a deal, says Founder and a Managing Director of DFJ, Tim Draper. By constantly creating a string of deals, market players create a network of people who will benefit along the supply chain. Do deals to help build the economy, says Draper, and you can build richness and variety in your portfolio. Even when deals fail, if you persevere the final sum, it will have a positive ripple effect.
Tim Draper, Partner at Draper Fisher Jurvetson, suggests that entrepreneurs are heroes because they are the real change agents in the world. Although politicians often recognize and propose programs to address problems, it is most often entrepreneurs who actually fix problems by taking big risks to achieve their vision.
Tim Draper, Partner at Draper Fisher Jurvetson, argues that the pace of technical change and adoption is increasing. This increasing rate of change is driven both by a growing customer base connected to the Internet as well as the growing number of entrepreneurs who are able to participate in global markets from anywhere in the world.
Tim Draper, Founder and co-Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, compares entrepreneurs to 'heroes and heroines' who are willing to take huge risks to work for an extraordinary outcome.
Draper discusses why the DFJ Network was formed. The DFJ Network is looking for 'heroes' with passion and energy to lead a business to change the way the world works.
Draper applies Moore's law to all science as it is growing exponentially and spreading very quickly.