Silicon Valley's Hottest Innovation

"What I really love is an idea that could take down a big icon"

Legendary venture capitalist Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson on creating superheroes

Photographs by Dawid Bilski

Batman, the caped crusader, was Timothy Draper’s superhero in his early years. Draper felt Batman was fearless, determined and a total man of action — no barrier too high, no challenge too great. Besides, the Batcave and the Batmobile only added to his cool quotient. Later in life, on his 21st birthday to be precise, Draper discovered Spiderman and loved his sense of humour. Of late, this third-generation venture capitalist feels the world is running out of superheroes. So the 54-year-old decided to create some of his own at the Draper University. The charismatic Valley veteran tells us about how he hopes to create entrepreneurial heroes and some of the common mistakes entrepreneurs make. If he were a superhero, what powers would he like to possess? Draper’s reply: power to get all things done and still have time for his family and friends. Superheroes are only human, after all.