Tim Draper

Timothy Cook Draper
Born	(1958-06-11) June 11, 1958 United States
Occupation(s)	Venture capital investor, entrepreneur
Years active	1985–present
Known for	Founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Draper University, Draper Venture Network, Draper Associates; partner at Draper Goren Holm

Timothy Cook Draper (born June 11, 1958) is a prominent American venture capital investor and the originator of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ). He also established Draper University, the Draper Venture Network, and Draper Associates. Since 2019, Draper has been a partner at Draper Goren Holm. His investment portfolio includes high-profile companies such as Baidu, Hotmail, Skype, Tesla, SpaceX, AngelList, SolarCity, Ring, Twitter, DocuSign, Coinbase, Robinhood, Ancestry.com, Twitch, Cruise Automation, PrettyLitter, and Focus Media. In July 2014, Draper attracted significant media attention by acquiring bitcoins seized during the Silk Road auction conducted by the US Marshals Service. An outspoken supporter of bitcoin and decentralization, he was also among the early backers of the controversial startup Theranos.

Background and education

Draper represents the third generation in a lineage of venture capitalists and public servants. He is the son of Phyllis (Culbertson) and William Henry Draper III, who founded Draper & Johnson Investment Company and previously chaired the Export-Import Bank of the United States. His grandfather, William Henry Draper Jr., established Draper, Gaither and Anderson in 1958 and served as the inaugural ambassador to NATO.

His academic journey included attendance at Phillips Academy Andover before obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1980. He later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1984. During his time at Stanford, Draper worked as a marketing engineer intern at Hewlett-Packard and collaborated with fellow business student Heidi Roizen to create the campus board game "Stanford - The Game."

Early business career

In 1985, Draper departed from the investment bank Alex. Brown & Sons to found his own venture capital firm. John H.N. Fisher became a partner in 1991, followed by business student Steve Jurvetson joining in 1994.

Hotmail and viral marketing

Draper made early investments in Hotmail founders Jack Smith and Sabeer Bhatia. He gained prominence for implementing viral marketing tactics by appending a concise promotional message to outgoing Hotmail emails. Although Draper and Jurvetson popularized the term "viral marketing," the concept existed prior to their adoption. This approach played a crucial role in Hotmail’s swift expansion and showcased innovative marketing strategies within technology investments.

Baidu

Draper became the first venture capitalist from Silicon Valley to invest in China through the global fund DFJ ePlanet. In 2001, he reached an agreement with Robin Li, CEO of Baidu, to purchase a 28% stake in the company for US$9 million (~$ in ).

Skype

Bill Draper, Tim Draper's father, was among the early investors in Skype, with DFJ joining as a backer in 2004. By 2005, DFJ held a 10% ownership in Skype when it was acquired by eBay for US$4.1 billion (~$ in ). Draper and Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström appeared together in Skype’s inaugural video call at Stanford University in 2007.

Tesla

Through DFJ, Draper participated in Tesla, Inc.’s Series C funding round in 2006. He further supported Tesla’s expansion by investing again during the Series D round in 2007 through Draper Associates, aiding the company’s development of electric vehicles.

Bitcoin

On June 27, 2014, Draper acquired close to 30,000 bitcoins for approximately US$19 million at a US Marshals Service auction involving assets seized from Silk Road. He forecasted on September 23, 2014, that bitcoin would reach a $10,000 value within three years. In January 2015, Draper placed a bet of about $400,000 (2,000 bitcoins priced at $200 each) on bitcoin’s rebound following a price decline. Bitcoin exceeded $10,000 on November 29, 2017.

In April 2018, Draper predicted that within five years, traditional currency would become obsolete for routine transactions such as buying coffee due to widespread cryptocurrency use. By December 2019, he anticipated bitcoin’s price would climb to US$250,000 by the close of 2022.

Cruise Automation and Twitch

After investing in Twitch, which Amazon purchased for $1 billion, Kyle Vogt, one of Twitch’s founders, gave Draper a ride in a Cruise Automation autonomous vehicle. Despite nearly experiencing an accident during the ride, Draper committed capital to Cruise, which was subsequently acquired by General Motors for $1 billion.

Theranos

Draper was an initial investor in the blood-testing company Theranos. Its founder, Elizabeth Holmes, later faced fraud allegations by the SEC. Despite these accusations, Draper publicly stood by Holmes.

Recent investments

Among Draper’s latest investments are Robinhood (company), Coinbase, eShares, Tezos, DefiMoneyMarket, and OpenGov. His investment strategy targets enterprises utilizing artificial intelligence, bitcoin, blockchain, smart contracts, and computational genomics within sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government.

Personal life

From an early age, Draper engaged in various sports including tennis, baseball, and basketball.

Three of his children have taken leadership roles in venture capital: Adam Draper heads Boost VC; Jesse Draper leads Halogen VC; and Billy Draper manages Path Ventures.

Politics

Draper champions free-market principles and entrepreneurship worldwide while opposing Sarbanes-Oxley regulations on the grounds that they impede companies from going public.

In 2000, he invested $20 million into an unsuccessful school voucher program.

Split California Proposal

In 2014, Draper submitted a petition aiming to divide California into six smaller states due to governance difficulties. The proposal did not secure enough valid signatures to appear on the 2016 ballot.

In 2018, he initiated another petition to partition California into three states and gathered roughly 600,000 signatures. Although it qualified for the general election ballot that year, the California Supreme Court blocked it shortly before ballots were finalized.

2024 Presidential Election Endorsements

Draper revealed that he contributed financially to both presidential contenders, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, in approximately equal proportions, and affirmed his support for both individuals.

Educational program

In 2013, Draper established Draper University of Heroes, a residential institution in San Mateo that provides an immersive entrepreneurship curriculum developed under Draper's guidance.

Publications

• When A Venture Capitalist Enters California’s Political Matrix: Innovation Meets The Status Quo, 2018
• How to be The Startup Hero: A Guide and Textbook for Entrepreneurs and Aspiring Entrepreneurs, 2017