Venture Trailblazers featuring Tim Draper

Venture Trailblazers is an exclusive event series that connects leading investors, founders, and ecosystem leaders from across the globe to discuss the latest trends in startups and venture capital. For this edition, we are honored to welcome Tim Draper, founder of Draper Associates, DFJ, and the Draper Venture Network, and one of the world's most recognized venture capitalists. The goal of Venture Trailblazers is to educate and connect founders, leaders, mentors, and investors across the global Founder Institute, VC Lab, and FI Venture Networks. On July 9th, Tim Draper joins Adeo Ressi for the next edition of Venture Trailblazers. Tim Draper is one of the most recognized venture capitalists in the world and the founder of Draper Associates, DFJ, and the Draper Venture Network, a global network of venture capital funds. He has backed some of the most transformative companies in technology from their earliest rounds, including Tesla, SpaceX, Coinbase, Skype, Hotmail, Twitch, Robinhood, Baidu, Box, Carta, Planet, Cruise Automation, and more than 20 unicorns in total. A leading global voice for entrepreneurs, Tim is also one of the most prominent advocates for Bitcoin and decentralization. He famously won the U. S. Marshals' Bitcoin auction in 2014, has invested in over 50 crypto companies, and led early investments in Coinbase, Ledger, Tezos, and Bancor, among others. Tim is a regular presence across major networks as a proponent of entrepreneurship, innovative governance, free markets, and Bitcoin. His recognitions include the World Entrepreneurship Forum's "Entrepreneur of the World," one of the top 100 most powerful people in finance by Worth Magazine, the top 20 most influential people in crypto by CryptoWeekly, #1 most networked VC by AlwaysOn, #7 on the Forbes Midas List, and a member of the Global Guru 30 Startup Gurus in the world. What We'll CoverIn this candid conversation, Tim and Adeo will explore:Tim's journey as an investor and the philosophy that has guided his decisions over the decadesThe story behind his early bet on SpaceX, and what it taught him about backing audacious foundersLessons drawn from across his portfolio of category-defining companiesHis current thinking on crypto and AI, and where he sees each headed nextHis advice for emerging managers building enduring, high-performing venture firms todayAbout Venture TrailblazersVenture Trailblazers is an exclusive event series that educates and connects operators and investors across the global Founder Institute, VC Lab, and FI Venture Network communities. Each edition spotlights a leading voice from the ecosystem in a candid conversation on what's driving the next wave of innovation in venture capital. About VC LabVC Lab (is the leading venture capital accelerator worldwide for new and emerging managers.900+ funds have successfully completed the program, building ethical and enduring venture capital firms around the world. The program provides all the tools needed to launch a fund and close on capital in six months or less. Managers participate in weekly fund-building sprints, receive tactical advice from experienced domain experts, and join a collaborative, global community of peers. VC Lab also develops essential fundraising skills and offers access to Decile Hub, the trusted venture platform for VCs to generate top decile returns. Learn more at and apply to the program at Additional Resources: Find more Startup Events, learn about Funding Benchmarks and Milestones, or visit our Insights Blog for more startup tips. About Founder Institute:The Founder Institute is the World's Largest AI-Native Company Builder, giving idea-stage, first-time founders, and employees making the leap to entrepreneurship the tools, global network, and proven methodology to build an AI-powered startup from zero to funding. Since 2009, our structured programs have helped over [total_graduates] founders across [total_countries] countries raise more than $[total_funding] in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 6 continents, our mission is to empower talented and motivated people everywhere to build impactful, AI-powered companies.