Early Life and Education
Timothy Cook Draper was born on June 11, 1958. He comes from a lineage of venture capitalists; his father and grandfather were also involved in the field. Draper graduated from Stanford University with a degree in electrical engineering in 1980 and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1984. While at Stanford, he created the campus board game "Stanford - The Game".
Rise to Success
In 1985, Draper started his venture capital career. He is the founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), Draper University, Draper Venture Network, and Draper Associates. He is also a partner in Draper Goren Holm. His most prominent investments include Baidu, Hotmail, Skype, Tesla, SpaceX, Coinbase, and Robinhood. Draper is also a proponent of bitcoin and decentralization. He made a significant investment in Bitcoin in 2014 when he purchased nearly 30,000 bitcoins at a US Marshals Service auction. Draper is known for creating viral marketing, a method instrumental to the success of Hotmail and Skype.
Key Business Strategies
Draper's key strategy involves investing in visionary founders and transformative businesses. Draper is a strong supporter of Bitcoin, Blockchain, and cryptocurrencies. He has made numerous investments in crypto companies. Draper also created Draper University of Heroes, a school to help entrepreneurs accomplish their missions. His firm, Draper Associates, focuses on early-stage ventures, primarily from pre-seed to Series A.
Philanthropy
Draper has also been involved in philanthropy, donating $500,000 to the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge. He has also started Innovate Your State, a non-profit focused on crowdsourced innovation in government, and BizWorld, teaching children about business. The Draper Foundation, led by Tim Draper and his family, focuses on education, the arts, children and social services, and Presbyterian churches. The foundation distributes approximately $6.5-6.8 million in grants annually.