Tom Perkins is the co-founder of America’s premier venture capital firm - Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. He served as director of Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Philips Electronics, News Corporation, Symantec, and many more. His VC firm reshaped venture investing and the companies they invested in reshaped whole industries.
Besides doing high business, Tom is a man of exceptional passions, among them yachting, ocean racing, vintage cars, and writing.
This auto-biography is wholly entertaining, sprinkled with dry humor, wisdom, and adventures. You’ll get a glimpse at the founding moments of many historical tech companies. For example, he mentions putting $20M in Google for about 24% of shares in 1999:
John [Doerr of KPCB] helped founders Brin and Page to develop a team - he went on the board and also recruited Eric Schmidt […] to help run the place, and the strategy for selling advertising spotted to searches was developed.
Be advised though, this isn’t a business book! Tom shies away from giving specific business advice and account details. (The whole Google story spans just two paragraphs, despite being “their most successful home run.”) He goes on instead to tell the story of a well lived life, his mentor Dave Packard, his being tried for manslaughter in a backwater French town, his passion for sail boats, the death of his wife, the writing of a novel, and his relationship with Danielle Steel.
By his own account, the toughest assignment he’s ever had was as a trustee emeritus of the San Francisco Ballet Company, helping them become one of the best in the world.
Tom is a brilliant story teller and his memoir is a real page turner.
Why should you read it?
My biggest take away from this book is the inspiring winning attitude of Tom Perkins. With every page I turn he’s taking on another challenge and going the extra mile until he completely wins it. It’s not just about the business, it’s in everything he does. Expect to end up dreaming big and feeling energized after this lecture.
PS: If you are interested in this book and you live in Bucharest I can lend it to you. Just leave a comment.
