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December 15, 2005
VV Show #23 - Randy Komisar of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
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It’s not easy to stand out at Kleiner Perkins, one of the most prestigious venture capital shops in Silicon Valley that counts Google in its portfolio. Though Randy Komisar joined the firm just this year, it’s clear he’s not a typical venture capitalist. He once was a lawyer, but openly admits to hating being a lawyer and has been running from the law (well, from the practice of law) for most of his career. He’s played top roles at Claris Corporation, LucasArts Entertainment and TiVo. Now he’s ready to build a legacy at Kleiner Perkins.
Show notes:
1:50 Started career as a lawyer
- “Where were you 20 years ago?”
- “I was a rock promoter.”
- “I went to law school on the misnotion that I needed to become a professional at something.”
- Went to Harvard Law School.
- "I was pretty miserable."
3:50 Unbecoming a lawyer
- “Nobody would confuse me with a lawyer today.”
- Got a job at Apple.
- Formed Claris Corporation.
- Was the CEO at Lucas Arts.
7:30 Winning in Silicon Valley
9:10 Entrepreneurship a profession?
- “If you look at the economy as a missile, we’re at the tip of a missile in creating new ideas and new opportunities on a global basis.”
- “If you’re a young entrepreneur and you need to tell your parents what you’re doing, I think it’s great to explain that it’s a profession.”
10:35 Becoming a VC
- “The opportunities to make a difference were happening so fast and furiously, that I was loath to be committed and stuck in any single one of them. I wanted to be able to work across a portfolio of ideas.”
11:25 “Venture management model”
- Bringing that model to Kleiner Perkins.
- “This gave be a sense of being committed and engaged in creating a legacy.”
13:50 Making a mark
14:35 Valuations
- “The market gets to determine what the value is.”
- “I know a lot of venture capitalists who say they add a lot of value, and don’t.”
- “Don’t come to Kleiner Perkins for money. We’re expensive money.”
16:20 Deciding to back a company
17:30 What Randy’s done so far
- “Almost everything I’m doing is stealth.”
- Working with companies in these areas: digital divide, mobile voice and mashup communities.
- Co-sponsor of PodShow investment.
19:14 Wikipedia scandal with Adam Curry
- “It’s a disappointment.”
- “I thought that the response that Wikipedia had was fair, in the sense that if you’re going to create open communities you’re going to have to incur some inefficiencies in the process.”
20:10 Choosing a profession
- “I think that you should question authority.”
- “The shame of it is when smart people conform to conventional expectations and miss out on the opportunities to live a creative life.”
Official bio:
Randy Komisar joined Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in 2005 as a partner. For several years prior Randy has partnered with entrepreneurs creating businesses with leading edge technologies.He was a co-founder of Claris Corporation, served as CEO for LucasArts Entertainment and Crystal Dynamics, and acted as a "virtual CEO" for such companies as WebTV, Mirra and GlobalGiving. He was a founding Director of TiVo where he is currently chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee. Earlier Randy served as CFO of GO Corporation and Senior Counsel for Apple Computer, following a private practice in Technology Law.
Randy holds a BA in Economics from Brown University and a JD from Harvard Law School. He is a Consulting Professor of Entrepreneurship at Stanford University and author of the best-selling book The Monk and the Riddle
, as well as several articles on leadership and entrepreneurship. Randy frequently speaks here and abroad on such topics.
Posted by greg at 2:12 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
December 12, 2005
VV Show #22 - Introducing the Venture Voice Entrepreneur of the Year Award
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We’ve interviewed some of the most accomplished and most hungry entrepreneurs on this show, but now the year’s almost over and it’s time to choose the Entrepreneur of the Year. We have no distinguished panel of judges or wise editorial board to make this decision. Rather, we’re leaving it up to you, our listeners, to decide. Listen to this brief show to find out more. Visit www.VentureVoice.com/Entrepreneur2005 to cast your vote.
Posted by greg at 12:21 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 8, 2005
VV Show #21 - Fabrice Grinda of Zingy
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If you think the ringtone business is for kids, then Fabrice Grinda has a $130 million lesson to teach you. After starting the eBays of Europe and Latin America, Fabrice brought the ringtone business concept to America by starting Zingy. We caught up with Fabrice, now 31 and a millionaire several times over, just a couple of hours before he finished his last day at the helm of Zingy. While his possessions were in boxes, he put all of his cards on the table by telling us his net worth at every stage of the game. He’s risked all of his resources in the past for his ventures, but will he do it again? Listen to hear his plans.
Update (4/16/08): Fabrice announced on the Venture Voice blog that he's launched a new online classified business called OLX that's been dubbed a Facebook killer. OLX recently raised $13.5 million in venture funding.
Show notes:
1:15 Becoming an entrepreneur
- Born in Paris, grew up in Nice.
- Attended Princeton.
- Made several hundred thousand dollars by arbitraging computers between the US and France.
6:30 Types of entrepreneurs
- “I’m not very creative.”
- “On paper I look more like a businessman than an entrepreneur, just so happens that I’d rather not work for anyone else, and that’s why I’m an entrepreneur.”
7:15 Out of college
- Worked at McKinsey & Company.
- “After two years at McKinsey I realized that my goal in life was not to write a perfect PowerPoint presentation.”
9:30 Selection criteria for business
- Fabrice lists his criteria in this blog post.
13:00 Started Aucland in Europe and Deremate in Latin America
- “It’s incredible how unsavvy a lot of the French entrepreneurs were with regards to PR.”
- “I feel that it’s often better to make the wrong decision, and maybe fix it over time as you realize you made the wrong decision, then making no decision at all.”
22:30 Doing business in France
23:45 Investor follies
- Aucland was funded by Bernard Arnault, France’s richest individual.
- “The guy’s worth $18 billion, he doesn’t really care about making another $100 or $200 million.”
27:00 Picking the next venture
- “I had to become an entrepreneur again.”
- Found Jamba! was doing well selling ringtones in Germany, but no one was doing it in the U.S.
- Got the idea for Zingy.
- “I invested every last penny I had in [Zingy]. I didn’t mean to.”
32:30 Missing payroll
- “I kept making silly excuses to employees... they had heard it before.”
33:30 Seeds of success
- “It wasn’t really working because charging people by credit card is not a great model, especially when your consumers are teenagers and don’t have credit cards.”
- “I bought a deal with Microsoft.”
- “Finally, on August 15th, 2003, the check from Sprint arrives. And the first check from Sprint is like half-a-million dollars.”
39:30 When to cash out
- “I still have no money in my bank account.”
- “Then I’m like: ‘You know what, stop this, we’re not fund raising, we’re just growing the company.’”
- “The investment bank can be the bad guy.”
- Sold company for $80 million to a Japanese company.
- “So I sell the company and blow out all the numbers that we ever expected to blow.”
- Acquired Vindigo.
46:30 Quitting Zingy, moving on
- Traveling around the world.
- “I’m keeping my eyes open for the next big idea.”
48:50 Style
- “The objective at the end of the day is to have fun and build a great business.”
- “Most people that build businesses to make money end up loosing because they’re not willing to sacrifice it all.”
- “We’re at the very beginning of the Internet revolution.”
Posted by greg at 12:05 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
