Tim Draper on Blockchain, VC, female VCs, El Salvador and everything Bitcoin

The Irish Tech News Podcast

It’s true, Tim Draper has picked losers. He tells me this even before I ask him. The VC legend who backed Hotmail, Tesla, SpaceX, Coinbase, Ledger and many other successful companies, readily coughs up that he has invested in lemons. Some he says have totally gone out of business, but others just didn’t get him the money back.

“By the same token there are winners that make us a couple of times on the money and then some that 1000x the investment.”

Asked to identify the single biggest element in both – either for success or failure, Draper is very sure of the common denominator.

“Trust – entrepreneurs have to build trust amongst themselves, their team, their employees and their customers.”

He also touches on another comment theme – regulation.

“They need to feel free to innovate. And they can’t feel overwhelmed by government regulations.”

Draper cites a single decision maker in the business – and faith amongst the team in that leader.

“Another factor is that the winners are often a bit odd. Their ideas are sometimes left of centre and often I go - whoa, what are you doing?”

Tune in to hear more from the Bitcoin legend

Your host is Jillian Godsil, award winning journalist, broadcaster and author - her latest book is at https://persons-of-interest.io/