I know that the documentary "Something Ventured" started one title after another quite early, but I didn't watch it all. Recently, I promised a friend a film review about this film, and I took the opportunity to make up for it. I'm lucky, otherwise I would really miss a good film. Even if you read this article, I suggest you go back to the movies.

The two sentences in the first half of the film well explain the definitions of "risk" and "capital" in venture capital in another way:

In the United States in the 196s, there was a popular saying: people are in the west and money is in the east. Traditional companies and almost all their capital are in the east, but some of the smartest minds are gradually going west. What Arthur Rock, the first generation venture capitalist, did was to raise money from the east and invest it in the smartest minds in the west.

it all started when William Shockley won the nobel prize in physics for the invention of the transistor. Later, he decided to recruit young and energetic people near western California to help him try to commercialize his newly invented transistor. And this is the beginning of the story of Silicon Valley ...

This photo taken in 196, from left to right, is Gordon Moore, C. Sheldon Roberts, Eugene Kleiner, Robert Noyce, Victor Grinich, Julius Blank, Jean Hoerni and Jay Last. These eight rebellious people used to work under Shockley, but they finally left Shockley's laboratory because the Nobel Prize winner was difficult to get along with. With Arthur Rock's help, he finally got the earliest angel investment of $1.5 million from Sherman Fairchild. This is what we later heard about Fairchild Semiconductor Company. The company's address is in the now famous Mountain View in California.

The picture above shows Intel's first BP for financing, which is only one page and double-spaced. In 1968, when they approached Arthur Rock for $2.5 million in financing.

during his stay at Intel, Arthur Rock not only wrote checks as an investor, but also attended staff meetings, attended board meetings, provided suggestions, set up audit committees, maintained customer relations, and conducted interviews.

ironically, in the end, Intel went public on the same day as Playboy, and even the IPO price was exactly the same.

IBM stands for commercial computers of that era. However, Tandem Computers still received investment from Tom Perkins and Pitch Johnson Fund. Tandem raised $1.4 million from Kleiner Perkins in 1974 and was finally acquired by Compaq for $3 billion in 1997.

James Treybig, the founder of Tandem Computers, mentioned that his investor Tom Perkins once said, "You must find the strong to raise money, because the weak will not invest in difficult times. But that's when most winners get rich. "

Atari brought the concept of home games to the world. In addition to its own Sequoia Capital, Don Valentine also introduced two other funds to invest together.

Bob Swanson, a new partner in charge of biomedicine recruited by Kleiner Perkins Fund, led the investment. After contacting Kleiner Perkins, Genentech's first investment was reduced from the original planned $3 million to $25,. It was finally acquired by Roche Pharmaceuticals in 29 for $47 billion.

KPCB talked, but missed it. IVP talked about it, but missed it. Draper & Johnson talked about it, but missed it. Almost all (or only) funds in Silicon Valley at that time were talked about, and only Don Valentine of Sequoia Capital had the courage to make a move. One of the conditions that Sequoia is willing to invest is the need to add a person in charge of marketing and channels. This person is ultimately Mike Markkula.

Mike Markkula was only 32 years old when he retired from Intel. But every Monday, he helps others to set up a company and how to write a business plan. It's all free, just to get in touch with those smart minds and those passionate people. (It's a great candidate for an entrepreneurial mentor ...) In addition to helping Apple write a business plan, Mike Markkula finally invested in Apple (pictured above).

under the reconstruction of Mike Markkula, the board members of Apple at that time were Arthur Rock (in charge of finance) and Don Valentine (in charge of sales). It should be the most powerful board of directors at that time. In 1976, Apple received a total investment of $35, from Arthur Rock, Don Valentine and Mike Markkula, and its current market value is about $6 billion.

In fact, in Silicon Valley, about 4% of all companies that have completed financing will change their CEO in the next 18 months. Cisco and Sandy Lerner, one of its founders, are a good example.

Sequoia Capital invested US$ 28 million in 1987, and its current market value is about US$ 13 billion.

clean energy, nanotechnology, robot surgery, artificial intelligence, online drugs, organ transplantation, smart fabrics, real-time search, gesture recognition technology, quantum computing, implantable electronic products, intelligent buildings, mobile 3D display, social tv, holographic images, virtual reality, virtual medical treatment, stem cell engineering, wireless energy transmission, self-healing metal, and frictionless surfaces.

(Note: This article will be better read together with [Why Silicon Valley Will Continue to Rule] written by Leslie Berlin. )