I’m slowly reading, after four months I’m not yet finished, the book The Startup Game by William H Draper III.

The initial chapters cover the founding of some of the first venture capital partnerships in the late 1950’s and 1960’s, and I’m struck by how much have stayed the same in startups and venture capital.

“What did you say your business was again? Venture capital?”

“Yes. We make small minority investments in private companies, hoping to get a capital gain on the stock after helping the company in any way that we can.”

— The Startup Game: Inside the Partnership between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs by William H. Draper III
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“Entrepreneurship—and by extension, venture capital—is built on trust. They are built on the good reputations of the principals involved. More than most places in the world, Silicon Valley is the home of the handshake. Your word is your bond—or you’re in trouble.”

— The Startup Game: Inside the Partnership between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs by William H. Draper III
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Over 60 years the Silicon Valley way of startup building has gone global, but the principles stand.