What can we learn from a Valley Boy?

Charmian Love

August 12, 2009

I recently finished the autobiography of Tom Perkins, of Kleiner Perkins, Caufield and Byers fame, and one of the fathers of Venture Capital. Kerri Golden, a VC specialist I’ve been working with in Canada at MaRS, passed this book along, suggesting it might provide some insight on how to help the social finance market take flight.

It is interesting to compare some of the challenges of the early days of Silicon Valley with what we’re seeing in the social finance market today. I found the references to Perkin’s struggle to find places to invest his first fund something that resonates with what I hear from some social investors – namely that ‘good’ deals are not always as easy to find as you’d think…

Check it out on Amazon if you’re looking for a quick but entertaining read (with the occasional sprinkling of stories about race cars, yachts and other insight on the lifestyle of the rich and famous).