Tim Draper

About

Tim Draper is a venture capital investor serving as Founder and Managing Partner at Draper Associates. He left the investment bank Alex. Brown & Sons in 1985 to start the firm, which became Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) when John Fisher and Steve Jurvetson joined. He also founded the Draper Venture Network, a global network of venture funds, and in 2013 launched Draper University of Heroes, an entrepreneurship program in San Mateo, California. His early-stage investments include Baidu, Tesla, Skype, SpaceX, Twitch, Hotmail, Coinbase and Robinhood, and he is the author of How to Be the Startup Hero (2017). Tim brings a founder-investor perspective on early-stage venture capital, building venture firms and networks across markets, cryptocurrency investing, and entrepreneurship education. The role provides direct exposure to how investors assess founders, markets and technology at the earliest stage, and to how companies grow from first funding into global businesses. Tim is particularly relevant to conversations around fundraising readiness, early-stage investor decision-making, venture-scale growth, and how founders build conviction with capital partners.