Online Event
Venture Trailblazers featuring Tim Draper
Exclusive insights from the trailblazers shaping the future of startups and venture capital.
Date
Jul 09, 2026
Time
08:00 am - 09:00 am
Address
Online Event
Venture Trailblazers is an exclusive event series that connects leading investors, founders, and ecosystem leaders from across the globe to discuss the latest trends in startups and venture capital. For this edition, we are honored to welcome Tim Draper, founder of Draper Associates, DFJ, and the Draper Venture Network, and one of the world's most recognized venture capitalists. The goal of Venture Trailblazers is to educate and connect founders, leaders, mentors, and investors across the global Founder Institute, VC Lab, and FI Venture Networks.
On July 9th, Tim Draper joins Adeo Ressi for the next edition of Venture Trailblazers.
Tim Draper is one of the most recognized venture capitalists in the world and the founder of Draper Associates, DFJ, and the Draper Venture Network, a global network of venture capital funds. He has backed some of the most transformative companies in technology from their earliest rounds, including Tesla, SpaceX, Coinbase, Skype, Hotmail, Twitch, Robinhood, Baidu, Box, Carta, Planet, Cruise Automation, and more than 20 unicorns in total.
A leading global voice for entrepreneurs, Tim is also one of the most prominent advocates for Bitcoin and decentralization. He famously won the U.S. Marshals' Bitcoin auction in 2014, has invested in over 50 crypto companies, and led early investments in Coinbase, Ledger, Tezos, and Bancor, among others.
Tim is a regular presence across major networks as a proponent of entrepreneurship, innovative governance, free markets, and Bitcoin. His recognitions include the World Entrepreneurship Forum's "Entrepreneur of the World," one of the top 100 most powerful people in finance by Worth Magazine, the top 20 most influential people in crypto by CryptoWeekly, #1 most networked VC by AlwaysOn, #7 on the Forbes Midas List, and a member of the Global Guru 30 Startup Gurus in the world.
What We'll Cover
What We'll Cover
In this candid conversation, Tim and Adeo will explore:
- Tim's journey as an investor and the philosophy that has guided his decisions over the decades
- The story behind his early bet on SpaceX, and what it taught him about backing audacious founders
- Lessons drawn from across his portfolio of category-defining companies
- His current thinking on crypto and AI, and where he sees each headed next
- His advice for emerging managers building enduring, high-performing venture firms today
About Venture Trailblazers
Venture Trailblazers is an exclusive event series that educates and connects operators and investors across the global Founder Institute, VC Lab, and FI Venture Network communities. Each edition spotlights a leading voice from the ecosystem in a candid conversation on what's driving the next wave of innovation in venture capital.
About VC Lab
VC Lab (https://GoVCLab.com) is the leading venture capital accelerator worldwide for new and emerging managers.
900+ funds have successfully completed the program, building ethical and enduring venture capital firms around the world.
The program provides all the tools needed to launch a fund and close on capital in six months or less. Managers participate in weekly fund-building sprints, receive tactical advice from experienced domain experts, and join a collaborative, global community of peers.
VC Lab also develops essential fundraising skills and offers access to Decile Hub, the trusted venture platform for VCs to generate top decile returns.
Learn more at https://GoVCLab.com and apply to the program at https://FI.co/apply/vc
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About Founder Institute:
The Founder Institute is the World's Largest AI-Native Company Builder, giving idea-stage, first-time founders, and employees making the leap to entrepreneurship the tools, global network, and proven methodology to build an AI-powered startup from zero to funding. Since 2009, our structured programs have helped over 9,000 founders across 100 countries raise more than $2BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 6 continents, our mission is to empower talented and motivated people everywhere to build impactful, AI-powered companies.
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The Founder Institute is the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our AI-native company-building programs have helped over 9,000 entrepreneurs raise over 2BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.
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