Forbes Column 2009: Seducing A VC

You want Kleiner Perkins’ Randy Komisar as an investor? This week’s Zero-In explains what he wants from you. Read Seducing a VC in Forbes.

Getting To Plan B: Randy Komisar, General Partner, Kleiner Perkins (Part 7)

SM: In your eyes, what is special about Silicon Valley? RK: Silicon Valley is unique in the US and the world. The reason is that this community has taken 70 years to build. It started with Terman at Stanford. It was an experiment that he ran effectively that became the innovation industry.

Getting To Plan B: Randy Komisar, General Partner, Kleiner Perkins (Part 6)

SM: I think there are opportunities in both developing economies and in Western economies. I am working on a forward-looking book about India right now. RK: Perhaps. I see energy as a good example. If India can resolve their unique energy issues in a way that only India can do it, then they would have

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Getting To Plan B: Randy Komisar, General Partner, Kleiner Perkins (Part 5)

SM: What about clean tech or green? How important is that for you? RK: Green is a different sort of investment. It is capital intensive and it is not an order of magnitude investing like other areas. In other investment areas, you are looking for order of magnitude decrease in cost, order of magnitude increase

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Getting To Plan B: Randy Komisar, General Partner, Kleiner Perkins (Part 4)

SM: You said that you like to get involved with companies early and help them solidify positioning; is that because you are good at it? Most VCs don’t do it, and even if they did they would not have a clue how to do it. RK: It’s just what I do. I agree that most

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Getting To Plan B: Randy Komisar, General Partner, Kleiner Perkins (Part 3)

SM: Could you contrast your proposed process to a business plan? RK: With a business plan, in a more conventional process, somebody would have identified a solution. It may not even be a solution to a real problem.

Getting To Plan B: Randy Komisar, General Partner, Kleiner Perkins (Part 2)

SM: Let’s get your basic concepts together. I saw four key concepts in your book; the concepts of analog, antilog, dashboard, and leaps of faith. RK: The way I think about the entrepreneurial or innovation process is from a “what’s the problem I am trying to solve” standpoint. In my business, I look for the

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Getting To Plan B: Randy Komisar, General Partner, Kleiner Perkins (Part 1)

Randy Komisar is a co-founder of Claris Corporation, served as CEO for LucasArts Entertainment and Crystal Dynamics, and acted as a “virtual CEO” for such companies as WebTV and GlobalGiving. Prior to that, he served as CFO of GO Corporation and senior counsel for Apple Computer, following a private practice in technology law. Randy holds

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