Ep. 77: {Rebroadcast}: Freedom, Global Entrepreneurship and the Possibilities of Cryptocurrency with VC Tim Draper
09/13/18 • 34 min
“Venture capital, to me, is a way that we can raise money to help entrepreneurs who can go out there and do something for the world that just opens it up. I am always pushing for freedom, and I think it’s great to see venture capital be able to support entrepreneurs—wherever they are—to go out there and do something extraordinary for freedom.”
Tim Draper is the founding partner of Draper Associates as well as Draper Fischer Jurvetson (DFJ). His gift for assessing the fastest way to get a service to its users was instrumental in the success of viral communication networks like Hotmail and Skype. He has been an early investor in several wildly successful startups including Baidu, Tesla and Cruise Automation. Tim is recognized as a leading supporter of global entrepreneurship, and he was named #7 on the Forbes Midas List, #1 Most Networked Venture Capitalists by Always On, and World Entrepreneurship Forum’s 2015 ‘Entrepreneur for the World.’ In 2011, he created Draper University, a residential and online school that seeks to help talented young people meet their entrepreneurial goals.
Today Tim offers his definition of entrepreneurship and his journey from aspiring entrepreneur to venture capitalist. He shares his take on the ideal relationship between VC and founder and the sectors he is looking to invest in right now. We explore the world of cryptocurrency, discussing its potential to transform governance, how innovative VCs are trying new things with Bitcoin, and what the industry can learn from the P2P music and media revolution. Listen in to understand why Tim equates freedom with wealth and how to leverage the ripple effect of optimism.
Topics Covered
Tim’s definition of VC
Give entrepreneurs the means to ‘do something extraordinary for freedom’
Draper Venture Network is taking best practices global
Tim’s entrepreneurial evolution
VC affords opportunity to dabble
The relationship between a VC and founder
Look for a fit, VC that can bring something interesting to the table
Tim’s strengths lie in designing business models and networking
The sectors Tim is looking to invest in right now
Anything blockchain has to offer
Cryptocurrency has ability to transform real estate, insurance, banking and government
Tim’s take on how cryptocurrency will transform governance
World more elastic, flexible
Functions of government done more efficiently on blockchain
How innovative VCs are trying new things with Bitcoin
Tim was first to invest in company with cryptocurrency, use smart contract
The best advice Tim got from his VC dad
Personal connection matters
What cryptocurrency can learn from peer-to-peer music/media revolution
When status quo threatened, they will retaliate (e.g.: lawsuits, government intervention, competitive threat)
‘Technology wins all the wars’
Control vs. technological advancements
Countries relying on own currency lose out
Entrepreneurs, money go elsewhere
The ripple effect of optimism
Fear keeps people in boxes
Accomplish much more if you ‘just go’
Connect with Tim
Draper Associates http://www.draper.vc/
Draper Associates on Twitter https://twitter.com/drapervc
DFJ http://dfj.com/index.php
Draper University http://www.draperuniversity.com/
The Startup Hero on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUrqcWVF3uelGlK-6sXGjLgKu_JlhW_3l
Tim Draper on Medium https://medium.com/@TimDraper/the-pledge-f18e12013785
Meet the Drapers https://republic.co/meet-the-drapers
Resources Mentioned
The Startup Game: Inside the Partnership between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs by William H. Draper III https://www.amazon.com/Startup-Game-Partnership-Capitalists-Entrepreneurs/dp/0230339948
Bionomics: Economy as Ecosystem by Michael Rothschild https://www.amazon.com/Bionomics-Economy-Ecosystem-Michael-Rothschild/dp/0805019790
Connect with Boost VC
Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/
Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/
Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC
“Venture capital, to me, is a way that we can raise money to help entrepreneurs who can go out there and do something for the world that just opens it up. I am always pushing for freedom, and I think it’s great to see venture capital be able to support entrepreneurs—wherever they are—to go out there and do something extraordinary for freedom.”
Tim Draper is the founding partner of Draper Associates as well as Draper Fischer Jurvetson (DFJ). His gift for assessing the fastest way to get a service to its users was instrumental in the success of viral communication networks like Hotmail and Skype. He has been an early investor in several wildly successful startups including Baidu, Tesla and Cruise Automation. Tim is recognized as a leading supporter of global entrepreneurship, and he was named #7 on the Forbes Midas List, #1 Most Networked Venture Capitalists by Always On, and World Entrepreneurship Forum’s 2015 ‘Entrepreneur for the World.’ In 2011, he created Draper University, a residential and online school that seeks to help talented young people meet their entrepreneurial goals.
Today Tim offers his definition of entrepreneurship and his journey from aspiring entrepreneur to venture capitalist. He shares his take on the ideal relationship between VC and founder and the sectors he is looking to invest in right now. We explore the world of cryptocurrency, discussing its potential to transform governance, how innovative VCs are trying new things with Bitcoin, and what the industry can learn from the P2P music and media revolution. Listen in to understand why Tim equates freedom with wealth and how to leverage the ripple effect of optimism.
Topics Covered
Tim’s definition of VC
Give entrepreneurs the means to ‘do something extraordinary for freedom’
Draper Venture Network is taking best practices global
Tim’s entrepreneurial evolution
VC affords opportunity to dabble
The relationship between a VC and founder
Look for a fit, VC that can bring something interesting to the table
Tim’s strengths lie in designing business models and networking
The sectors Tim is looking to invest in right now
Anything blockchain has to offer
Cryptocurrency has ability to transform real estate, insurance, banking and government
Tim’s take on how cryptocurrency will transform governance
World more elastic, flexible
Functions of government done more efficiently on blockchain
How innovative VCs are trying new things with Bitcoin
Tim was first to invest in company with cryptocurrency, use smart contract
The best advice Tim got from his VC dad
Personal connection matters
What cryptocurrency can learn from peer-to-peer music/media revolution
When status quo threatened, they will retaliate (e.g.: lawsuits, government intervention, competitive threat)
‘Technology wins all the wars’
Control vs. technological advancements
Countries relying on own currency lose out
Entrepreneurs, money go elsewhere
The ripple effect of optimism
Fear keeps people in boxes
Accomplish much more if you ‘just go’
Connect with Tim
Draper Associates http://www.draper.vc/
Draper Associates on Twitter https://twitter.com/drapervc
DFJ http://dfj.com/index.php
Draper University http://www.draperuniversity.com/
The Startup Hero on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUrqcWVF3uelGlK-6sXGjLgKu_JlhW_3l
Tim Draper on Medium https://medium.com/@TimDraper/the-pledge-f18e12013785
Meet the Drapers https://republic.co/meet-the-drapers
Resources Mentioned
The Startup Game: Inside the Partnership between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs by William H. Draper III https://www.amazon.com/Startup-Game-Partnership-Capitalists-Entrepreneurs/dp/0230339948
Bionomics: Economy as Ecosystem by Michael Rothschild https://www.amazon.com/Bionomics-Economy-Ecosystem-Michael-Rothschild/dp/0805019790
Connect with Boost VC
Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/
Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/
Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC
Previous Episode
Ep. 76: {Rebroadcast}: Sidechains, Stable Coins, and What’s Wrong with the ICO with Charlie Lee of Litecoin
‘There’s definitely some teams that are using [ICOs] and are able to fund their ideas better and more easily than the traditional VC way of doing things, but there’s just too many bad actors that just want a get rich quick scheme.’
Charlie Lee created Litecoin in 2011 while he was working as software engineer for Google. Litecoin is ‘the silver to Bitcoin’s gold,’ functioning as a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that complements Bitcoin. In the long-term, Charlie sees Litecoin becoming a payment currency used at both physical and online stores, and he is currently working to promote widespread merchant adoption.
Charlie also spent four years with Coinbase, serving as the Director of Engineering for the digital currency platform. Today Charlie explains why he is not a fan of the ICO, discussing why it’s ripe for bad actors. We cover the future of cryptocurrency and the major debates in the ecosystem, including hard forks and Bitcoin Gold. Charlie shares his inspiration for dedicating his career to cryptocurrency as well as his ambitions for Litecoin. Listen in for Charlie’s insight around sidechains, stable coins, and the value of CryptoKitties.
Topics Covered
Chalie’s background
Encrypted chat startup in 1999
Created Litecoin while working for Google
Last four years at Coinbase
Charlie’s take on the rise of the ICO
Incentives not in line, receive money before product is built
Too many bad actors
Tack on token functionality as afterthought
The future of the cryptocurrency space
ICO regulations to reduce fraud
Charlie’s ambitions for Litecoin
Become payment currency (physical, online stores)
Widespread merchant adoption
Listed on exchanges
Chalie’s insight around stable coins
Crypto must be tied back to real world somehow
Governments will eventually release cryptocurrencies (i.e.: crypto-USD)
The deployment of sidechains
Litecoin is decentralized, secured by miners
Value of sidechain in smart contracts
Why Charlie is excited about Monero
Coin doing the right thing
100% private
Charlie’s take on the major debates in the ecosystem
Bitcoin Gold
Hard forks
What inspired Charlie to enter the crypto space
Bitcoin as better version of gold
Easy to transfer, store for nothing
How CryptoKitties create value
Limited supply of digital resource (scarcity)
Concern lies in scaling
Connect with Charlie
Litecoin https://litecoin.org/
Litecoin on Twitter https://twitter.com/litecoin
Charlie on Twitter https://twitter.com/SatoshiLite
Resources Mentioned
Coinbase https://www.coinbase.com/?locale=en-US
Aragon https://aragon.one/
Monero https://getmonero.org/
Connect with Boost VC
Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/
Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/
Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC
Next Episode
Ep. 78: {Rebroadcast}: Olaf Carlson-Wee, Founder of Polychain Capital
Do you know how a former lumberjack becomes the founder of and leader of the largest crypto hedge fund? Listen to this episode of The Boost VC podcast where Adam Draper talks to Olaf Carlson-Wee the founder of Polychain and one of Boost VC's portfolio companies, about starting the first ever crypto hedge fund, and how he now manages more than $250m in assets.
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