BusinessWeek has an interview with KPCB partner and former Oracle executive Ray Lane.
Arun Natarajan is the Editor of TSJ Media, which tracks venture capital activity in India and Indian-founded companies worldwide. View sample issues of TSJ Media's Venture Intelligence India newsletters and reports.
I was always afraid I was entering into a new business, a new career -- venture capital. Well, I have no desire to learn venture capital. But I found that the entrepreneurs weren't looking for venture capitalists. They're looking for venture capital money, but they're looking for people who have operating experience. So I wondered, "Can I really do this business?" Well, yeah, I can, because that's what they really want: Someone who has experience and the contacts and all of that. So yeah, I like it.
...Q: You mention ego, and I imagine there's a good deal of that being a partner at Kleiner Perkins, too. Would you have joined any other venture firm?
A: No.
Q: Why not?
A: John [Doerr], it's really John. If John weren't here, I'd seriously think about something else to do. [Doerr is a Kleiner Perkins general partner, who funded Sun Microsystems and Amazon, among other companies.] What I want to do now is: I want to have a Google. Virsa is a candidate. Visible Path is a candidate. I have about three or four candidates. I have some that never will be candidates. I want them to have a good transition to something, but it will not be a big, important billion-dollar company. I know that already.
Arun Natarajan is the Editor of TSJ Media, which tracks venture capital activity in India and Indian-founded companies worldwide. View sample issues of TSJ Media's Venture Intelligence India newsletters and reports.