Articles by Tim
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Baidu Venture Investing
Baidu Venture Investing
“I have made it my practice to spread venture capital and entrepreneurship throughout the world. I have trained…
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Interesting translation of my talk to Chinese
Interesting translation of my talk to Chinese
冒险大师Tim Draper：谨慎对待中国投资 2015年10月28日09:13 新浪科技 微博 我有话说 收藏本文 德丰杰（DFJ）投资基金的创办合伙人Tim Draper 新浪科技 周雪昳…
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Tim Draper reposted thisTim Draper reposted thisWe just got back from our Draper team offsite at Disneyland 💫. Tim challenged us to take some learnings back about how we could make our work more magical. Disney is a masterclass in building something people genuinely love, for a long time. 🤠 A few things that stuck with me: Pride in craftsmanship. The hotel door closed slowly so kids wouldn't be startled. Little peepholes at a child's eye level. Every button on the Millennium Falcon clickable and lit up. A Droid DJ hyping the crowd at the Star Wars Cantina. We should bring that to everything we do: our internal tools, our founder experiences, all of it. Disney specializes in little moments of delight. They put cocoa puffs in my coffee. The cantina had a tingly foam and they gave us free cups of it. My Coke Zero was late so they gave me two for the price of one! Mickey Mouse got the crowd singing happy birthday when he found out three of us had birthdays. These gestures seem small but they add up exponentially. Being a founder is one of the hardest jobs in the world. As their first supporters, it's on us as VCs to bring those moments into their world too. An unexpected check-in text. A small gift at an event. It all compounds. Conviction backed by real money. Disney spent $1B on Star Wars land and $450M on Rise of the Resistance. They just believed. It's the same bet we make on founders every day. Rise of the Resistance was the best ride experience of my life, even the queue. I will never forget it. I hope the impact our founders make will never be forgotten either. Love as a work ethic. Every cast member was warm, present, and never broke character. It made the whole place feel alive. We want our founders to feel that kind of care from us. Disney sells worlds, not rides. Completely immersive, even if just for a little while. The best founders we back aren't just building companies. They're building futures people want to be part of. Disney has a longevity that is hard to replicate. I remember riding Space Mountain 7 times in a row as a kid. I rode it again 16 years later and got the exact same exhilaration with a touch of nostalgia. Very few companies ever achieve that. All of the above is why they did. Everything Disney ever built that became iconic looked kinda crazy and slightly irrational before it existed. Sound familiar? Tim always says we back rational founders building irrational ideas. Turns out Walt Disney was one of those founders too. What a team. What a trip. So grateful for everyone at Draper Associates. Can't wait for what the Draper ecosystem builds next.
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Tim Draper posted this🚀 Deadline Extended: Orbital Edge Accelerator Applications Now Open Until June 4, 2026! Innovators, startups, and space-tech pioneers, there’s still time to apply to the Orbital Edge Accelerator. Due to strong interest and demand, the application deadline has been extended to June 4, 2026, allowing more founders to apply to this unique program with an opportunity to be awarded $500,000 to $750,000. There is also a chance to win the Boeing-sponsored Technology in Space Prize, which consists of $100k in non-dilutive funding. If you’re building breakthrough solutions in any of the following areas, this is your moment: - Space technologies with dual-use potential - Space biotechnology and advanced materials, including in-space manufacturing and drug development Why apply? - Access to industry-leading mentors and partners - Strategic support to accelerate growth and commercialization - Opportunities to connect with investors and key stakeholders - A platform to position your innovation at the forefront of the orbital economy Don’t miss your chance to be part of a cohort driving the next wave of space innovation. 👉 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/gJWjjeDD #OrbitalEdge #SpaceTech #Innovation #Startups #Accelerator #Aerospace #DeepTech #Entrepreneurship
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Tim Draper shared thisI found Skype in a newspaper article. The two guys who started Kazaa were building something new using the same file-sharing technology, but for a completely different purpose. I asked Howard Hartenbaum to have a look for me. He did and told me I should get out to London to meet them. I met Niklas Zennström in a London pub. He walked me through his plan to build a network of shared Wi-Fi. The business was called Shyper. I was impressed enough to offer to fund him and his partner, Janus Friis. He called a week later with a change of plans... "Change of plans. We are going to go after the long-distance carriers. Do you still want to invest?" I said yes. My partners had concerns about the file-sharing history, so I passed the seed to my dad, Bill Draper. I eventually funded Skype through DFJ ePlanet Ventures, our first international fund. When Skype had three million audio users, I flew to Tallinn for a board meeting. I asked Niklas to set up video conferencing equipment so I could interview him for a Tony Perkins event in Palo Alto. After the interview, Niklas laughed and said: "That was the first Skype video call ever." I hadn't even known they were working on video. Skype sold for $4.1 billion to eBay in 2005.
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Tim Draper shared thisSee this article. I am a big fan of Gurudev. He spoke at our annual meeting. His breathing techniques have become standard practice at Draper University survival training. https://lnkd.in/gy2Wc9PhGurudev and the Meditation Method Reshaping Modern Boardroom LeadershipGurudev and the Meditation Method Reshaping Modern Boardroom Leadership
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Tim Draper reposted thisTim Draper reposted thisThe state of web3 investing: Bullish, in large part thanks to AI's infusion of energy and capital. Closely watching very innovative startups in stablecoins/agentic payments, decentralized AI (training & compute), and, of course, prediction markets. Web3 founders have a noisy environment to contend with, but, the upside is a lot more capital than in previous bearish months. Looking forward to discussing this further with Michael Bucella Keli Callaghan Steven W. Marc Baumann in Paris next week. PS. Thank you to Michael del Castillo, M.Sc. Ferdinand Le Tendre for bringing me on!
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Tim Draper shared thisBefore I was an investor, I was a guy carrying someone else's pitch deck around town. The company, Tasvir, used a computer to work with 2D mechanical CAD. We couldn't get investors to bite, but I learned a lot about mechanical CAD and the customers’ need for a new kind of MCAD. I asked Ian Edmonds, the marketing VP at Apollo Computer, what software mattered most for Apollo hardware. He pointed me to Polygen and SPG Consulting. I funded both, and while Polygen worked out ok, SPG Consulting became a bonanza. I met Sam Geisberg, and he showed me what he called, “reflexive technology,” the ability to flip between 2D and 3D mechanical drawings easily. As a software engineer myself, I couldn't figure out how he did it. It genuinely blew my mind. I introduced Sam to Don Fedderson, who was an MCAD expert, and Don brought in Steve Walske a fresh bright MBA. They added supersalesman, Richard Harrison as employee, and Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) was born. PTC went on to become the dominant MCAD company in the world. More than 10 million mechanical designs have been created on their products including your cars, your hair dryers, probably the chairs you're sitting in right now. When PTC went public, I was able to pay the entire SBIC loan and paid my family back, with interest.
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Tim Draper reposted thisTim Draper reposted thisThey said it couldn't be done at this size, this cost, this fast. Never before seen footage of the RAZOR™ P100 proving otherwise. 200 knots. Fully autonomous. Vertical takeoff, full transition to forward flight, and vertical landing. In the desert. From a 10x10 ft launch area. This is a huge moment for our team and everyone who has believed in this program. On to the next one…. Increasing speed, step by step.
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Tim Draper reposted thistoday I am looking forward to "teach" ... more like entertain a group of founders with my Draper University class on "Fund Raising and Marriage"... St. Pete founders - join us at spARK Labs by ARK Invest officeTim Draper reposted thisWhat’s happening at #spARKLabs this week 👇 May 19 – ARK Big Ideas Summit Prep | Members Only Final presentations and pitch prep as founders get ready for the ARK Big Ideas Summit 2026. 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM | 2nd Floor, Innovation Foundation Hall May 20 – PoweredUP Tampa Bay Tech Fest A full day of tech, innovation, and Tampa Bay connection bringing together builders, founders, and the community with Tampa Bay Tech. 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Duke Energy Center for the Arts (Mahaffey Theater) 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ewCcj6SF May 21 – ARK Big Ideas Summit 2026 Where big ideas meet the future of disruptive innovation with founders, investors, and leaders building what’s next with ARK Investment Management LLC. 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM | ARK Innovation Center May 22 – Lunch N Learn | Members Only Join Andy Tang from Draper Associates for a conversation around innovation, investing, and emerging technology. 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM | 3rd Floor, Colorful Corner Coworking Lounge May 22 – Bitcoin Pizza Day & AI Workshop An evening with the Tampa Bay Bitcoin community exploring AI, emerging tech, and connection with Bitcoin Bay Foundation. 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM | 2nd Floor, Innovation Foundation Hall 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eY3ZST4X
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Tim Draper shared thisI met Jim Hornthal in a pool. He swam over and started talking so fast I had to ask him to slow down just so I could follow along. Genius-level ideas, but coming out at 100mph. Jim was building something around video and travel. He called it Preview Travel. Jim wasn't building a travel company, but rather he was building a media company that happened to sell travel (right as the internet was about to make bandwidth cheap enough to make it work). The company went through major pivots, went public, and eventually sold to Travelocity. Jim had conviction and the ability to pivot without losing the thread. The lesson? I like to keep my ears open everywhere. Great entrepreneurs can happen in conferences, in airports, on the street, and even in water.
Tim Draper commented on a post
2w
Great events!
Tim Draper commented on a post
2w
Fantastic news. Great to have Draper backing Baiju Bhatt once again
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Tim Draper liked thisTim Draper liked thisWe just got back from our Draper team offsite at Disneyland 💫. Tim challenged us to take some learnings back about how we could make our work more magical. Disney is a masterclass in building something people genuinely love, for a long time. 🤠 A few things that stuck with me: Pride in craftsmanship. The hotel door closed slowly so kids wouldn't be startled. Little peepholes at a child's eye level. Every button on the Millennium Falcon clickable and lit up. A Droid DJ hyping the crowd at the Star Wars Cantina. We should bring that to everything we do: our internal tools, our founder experiences, all of it. Disney specializes in little moments of delight. They put cocoa puffs in my coffee. The cantina had a tingly foam and they gave us free cups of it. My Coke Zero was late so they gave me two for the price of one! Mickey Mouse got the crowd singing happy birthday when he found out three of us had birthdays. These gestures seem small but they add up exponentially. Being a founder is one of the hardest jobs in the world. As their first supporters, it's on us as VCs to bring those moments into their world too. An unexpected check-in text. A small gift at an event. It all compounds. Conviction backed by real money. Disney spent $1B on Star Wars land and $450M on Rise of the Resistance. They just believed. It's the same bet we make on founders every day. Rise of the Resistance was the best ride experience of my life, even the queue. I will never forget it. I hope the impact our founders make will never be forgotten either. Love as a work ethic. Every cast member was warm, present, and never broke character. It made the whole place feel alive. We want our founders to feel that kind of care from us. Disney sells worlds, not rides. Completely immersive, even if just for a little while. The best founders we back aren't just building companies. They're building futures people want to be part of. Disney has a longevity that is hard to replicate. I remember riding Space Mountain 7 times in a row as a kid. I rode it again 16 years later and got the exact same exhilaration with a touch of nostalgia. Very few companies ever achieve that. All of the above is why they did. Everything Disney ever built that became iconic looked kinda crazy and slightly irrational before it existed. Sound familiar? Tim always says we back rational founders building irrational ideas. Turns out Walt Disney was one of those founders too. What a team. What a trip. So grateful for everyone at Draper Associates. Can't wait for what the Draper ecosystem builds next.
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Tim Draper reacted on thisThe most valuable dual-use tech delivers elite value to both defense and commercial customers simultaneously. ICEYE's high-fidelity tech is doing just that: safeguarding sovereign nations while delivering valuable data that helps with responding to natural disasters, supporting climate resilience, and so much more. They are consistently the best, which is why it is no surprise they delivered an entire space intelligence system for Poland (in less than a year!), it is no surprise they were on the Silicon Valley Defense Group NatSec100 this week... in fact, there have been no surprises at all with any of their successes since we Draper Associates invested in 2017 :) Great piece here by Rafal Modrzewski and well worth the read.Tim Draper reacted on thisFour years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Europe is still watching its own security through someone else's eyes. The brief interruption of intelligence flows from Washington to Kyiv in 2025 was a reminder that even the closest alliances operate within political cycles. Europe has world-class space companies and expertise. What it lacks is speed. ICEYE recently delivered a sovereign space intelligence system to Poland in under 12 months. It proves what is already possible in Europe, at scale. Constellation Europe, a concept for a federated network of 1,000+ European-owned satellites, is achievable this decade. My argument in Politico: https://lnkd.in/dhuzA8JH
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Tim Draper reacted on thisTim Draper reacted on this🧑🚀Investment opportunity for SpacexBiotech Pre-seed and Seed stage startups building breakthrough solutions with dual-use potential⤵️ Draper Associates & DraperU Ventures have teamed up with the International Space Station National Laboratory to accelerate startups applying for the Disrupt Track at the #OrbitalEdgeAccelerator. Due to strong interest and demand, the application deadline has been extended to June 4, 2026, allowing more founders to apply to this unique program with an opportunity to be awarded $500,000 to $750,000. 🛸 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/g7bpzn2P There is also a chance to win the Boeing-sponsored Technology in Space Prize, which consists of $100k in non-dilutive additional funding💎 If you’re building pioneering solutions in any of the following areas, this is your moment: ☄️ Space biotechnology and advanced materials 🛰️ In-space manufacturing and drug development Why apply? 💎 Access to industry-leading mentors and partners 💎 Strategic support to accelerate growth and commercialization 💎 Opportunities to connect with investors and key stakeholders 💎 A platform to position your innovation at the forefront of the orbital economy Don’t miss your chance to be part of a cohort driving the next wave of space innovation 🌌 Tim Draper Andy Tang Sven Eenmaa Raphael Roettgen, CFA Francisco Cordova Brandon Kortokrax Michelle Kwok Draper Associates DraperU Ventures Draper University #OrbitalEdge #SpaceTech #Innovation #Startups #Accelerator #Aerospace #DeepTech #Entrepreneurship
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Tim Draper liked thisTim Draper liked thisThe 80/20 on how to read a term sheet: (Part II) In the last post we covered what to know before you dive into the document. Now we’re in the actual document. First up, protective provisions are usually page one or two. Sometimes labeled "voting rights" depending on how the doc is structured. These are the (future) actions you cannot take as a company without getting investor sign-off. Things like selling more shares, changing the board, selling the company, etc. They'll be listed out, often in romanettes (fancy word for lower case Roman numerals), and they're largely standard for a priced round. Try not to get sticker shock here. First-time founders sometimes see this and think: “Wait, these investors own 10% of my company and they can block me from selling it?” The counterargument from the investor side is that without any of these guardrails, a founder could take actions that wipe out investor value entirely. These provisions are designed to ensure that existing investors are consulted for major company decisions - more of a yield than a stop sign. Unless the terms of a future financing are truly egregious, you can expect your current investors to approve it. Additionally, fiduciary duties exist to stop investors from abusing their veto. Of course, bad actors exist, which is one of many reasons who you take money from matters as much as how much you take. What you want to scrutinize is the requisite holders definition sitting alongside it. That's the threshold of how many investors, and which ones, have to approve a protective provision item. Is it 51% of investor shares? 60%? Is it a majority of preferred, plus the lead investor gets a unilateral veto on top of that? A solo veto for the lead is worth pushing back on if you can (unless we’re the lead of course). "51% majority required, no single-investor veto" is a reasonable ask and your counsel will know how to frame it. Next up is board of directors. At seed stage this matters less than it will later, but get the concept locked in your head now. Look at two things: total number of seats, and who nominates which seats. Always odd numbers as tiebreakers come into play more often than you might expect. Three seats is standard for seed. A reasonable structure might be two common seats (founders or company-nominated) and one investor-filled seat. That keeps voting outcomes largely in founder control while giving investors a legitimate presence. For Series A, you're probably looking at five seats, 3 common and 2 prepared. Series B is when the balance often tips from common control to investor control. That's a conversation for your Series A and B investors, not a seed-stage fight to pick, but knowing the trajectory helps you understand what you're agreeing to today. Part III (major investment definition and founder revesting) to follow.
Publications
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How to be The Startup Hero
Amazon
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