Tim Draper is managing director of venture capital at Draper Fisher Jurvetson, which was instrumental in the success of Hotmail, Skype, and Digidesign, among others. He is chairman of Bizworld, a nonprofit organization that teaches entrepreneurship and business to children. Draper has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School and served on the California State Board of Education from 1998 to 1999. EDN recently conducted an interview with him.
Was there a key person who steered you toward technology?
Yes. I planned to be a physics major at Stanford, but my father steered me toward electrical engineering by telling me there are lots of jobs for EEs with a bachelor’s degree, but that, with physics, I would need a doctorate. I was fortunate that he was investing in the companies that were on the cutting edge of technology at the time.
Voices: Tim Draper: flowing venture capital where it’s needed - 11/26/2009 - EDN
