# Tim Draper

> Tim Draper is a third-generation venture capitalist and founder of Draper Associates, the firm behind early bets on Hotmail, Baidu, Skype, Tesla, Coinbase, and Robinhood. He pioneered viral marketing with Hotmail's email footer tagline, bought 30,000 bitcoins at a U.S. Marshals auction in 2014 for $19 million, and has never sold. The founder of Draper University of Heroes in San Mateo, he frames entrepreneurship as a heroic calling - handing students superhero capes on day one. Twice tried to split California into multiple states. Consistently predicts Bitcoin will hit $250,000. Sings his own original songs at startup conferences. Backed 60+ unicorns from seed stage across four decades.

- **Role:** Founder and Managing Director at Draper Associates
- **Organizations:** Draper Associates, Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), Draper University of Heroes, Draper Venture Network, Draper Goren Holm, BizWorld Foundation, Innovate Your State
- **From:** East Chicago, Indiana, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Preparatory School, Phillips Academy Andover, B.S. Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Pioneered viral marketing by suggesting Hotmail's 'Get your free email at Hotmail' email footer tagline (1996), Backed 60+ unicorn companies from seed stage over four decades, Won U.S. Marshals auction of 30,000 seized Silk Road bitcoins for $19M in 2014

## Career timeline

- **1980** — Graduated Stanford with B.S. in Electrical Engineering; interned at Hewlett-Packard
- **1984** — Graduated Harvard Business School with MBA; brief stint at Alex. Brown & Sons
- **1985** — Founded Draper Associates with $6M SBIC loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration
- **1991** — John H.N. Fisher joined; firm renamed Draper Fisher Associates
- **1994** — Steve Jurvetson joined as partner
- **1996** — Invested in Hotmail; suggested the now-legendary viral 'Get your free email at Hotmail' footer tagline
- **1997** — Hotmail sold to Microsoft for $500M; firm renamed Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ)
- **1999** — Launched DFJ ePlanet Fund - first global VC fund by a Silicon Valley firm
- **2001** — Negotiated 28% stake in Baidu for $9M
- **2005** — DFJ-backed Skype sold to eBay for $4.1 billion
- **2006** — Invested in Tesla Series C and D rounds
- **2008** — Re-launched independent Draper Associates as seed/early-stage vehicle
- **2012** — Founded Draper University of Heroes in San Mateo, CA
- **2013** — Filed Six Californias petition to divide California into six states
- **2014** — Won U.S. Marshals auction of 30,000 bitcoins (Silk Road seizure) for ~$19M
- **2018** — Cal 3 proposal qualified for ballot; blocked by California Supreme Court before vote
- **2025** — Draper Associates raised $200M for Fund 8; firm celebrates 40th anniversary
- **2025** — Led $2.5M pre-seed in Ark Labs (Bitcoin scaling startup)
- **2026** — Confirmed speaker at Bitcoin 2026 in Las Vegas

## Achievements

- Pioneered viral marketing by suggesting Hotmail's 'Get your free email at Hotmail' email footer tagline (1996)
- Backed 60+ unicorn companies from seed stage over four decades
- Won U.S. Marshals auction of 30,000 seized Silk Road bitcoins for $19M in 2014
- Led DFJ ePlanet Fund - first global VC fund from Silicon Valley (1999)
- Negotiated 28% stake in Baidu for $9M in 2001
- Ranked #7 on Forbes Midas List
- Named 'Entrepreneur of the World' by World Entrepreneurship Forum (2015)
- Founded Draper University, training 6,000+ founders from 104 countries
- Co-founded DFJ which backed Hotmail, Baidu, Skype, Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter
- Published book 'How to Be the Startup Hero' (2017)
- Draper Associates Fund 8 raised $200M (2025) at firm's 40th anniversary

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — Draper Associates raised $200M for Fund 8 (SEC filing confirmed); firm celebrated 40th anniversary
- **2025-10** — Led $2.5M pre-seed round in Ark Labs, a Bitcoin scaling and payment infrastructure startup
- **2025-11** — Draper Associates managing 305+ portfolio companies with $2B AUM; 16 new investments in prior 12 months
- **2026-04** — Confirmed speaker at Bitcoin 2026 conference (April 27-29, The Venetian Resort, Las Vegas)

## Links

- Website: https://www.timothydraper.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothydraper/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/TimDraper
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DraperTV
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timdraper/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tim-draper
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-05