What We Do
Draper Associates, founded in 1985, is a seed-stage venture capital firm that encourages entrepreneurs to drive their businesses to greatness, to transform industries with new technologies, and to build platforms for extraordinary growth, jobs, and wealth creation.
Areas of Focus
We are always open to discovering new interesting verticals and industries, but the majority of our investing is in the following sectors: consumer technology, financial technology, healthcare, manufacturing, education, and government tech.
What We Look For
We look for bright, motivated teams solving massive problems in new and interesting ways. We understand that great companies take time to build, and we like to ensure that entrepreneurs are in it for the long haul.
Team
Tim Draper
Founder/Managing PartnerTim Draper founded Draper Associates in July, 1985. He has been listed as #46 of the most outstanding Harvard alumni, #7 on the Forbes Midas List, #1 Most Networked Venture Capitalist by Always On, and #98 on the 2014 Worth Magazine 100 Most Powerful People in Finance.
Andrew Tang
Investment TeamAndy Tang has 15 years of operating, and early-stage investing experience in the high-technology space. He currently serves as the CEO of Draper University, an education ecosystem for entrepreneurs. Andy is also the founding Managing Director of the Draper Dragon Fund, a cross border China/US early stage investment fund.
Billy Draper
Investment TeamPrior to joining Draper Associates, Billy founded Mobber, a social referral platform that allowed several users to tweet a message simultaneously (eventually kicked off Twitter API, a badge of honor). He then went on to work at Facebook and Apartment List. Billy was listed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 for venture capital in 2016.
Joel Yarmon
Venture PartnerPrior to Draper Associates, Joel served as Technology Director for the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, advising Senators on technology legislation and policy. Joel also co-founded an IT consulting startup, Iceware Technologies, where he specialized in wireless application infrastructure.