Media hungry Silicon Valley VCs
It was interesting to see Margit Wennmachers, co-founder of Outcast PR, and now working at VC firm Andreesen Horowitz, so prominently quoted in the New York Times today:
Venture Capital Firms, Once Discreet, Learn the Promotional Game - NYTimes.com
She has done very well in getting a lot of ink for her employers, both the paper and electronic kind, in barrels and terabits. She's made them into the most visible VC firm in Silicon Valley.
The article notes that VCs have often sought the limelight, and that some, such as Tim Draper, from the oldest and foremost Silicon Valley VC firm, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, once agreed to wear a Captain America costume for the cover of Reuters' Venture Capital Journal.
She told New York Times reporter Nicole Perlroth, "I would never let Marc [Andreesen] or Ben [Horowitz] wear a Captain America uniform."
She's right, Messrs Andreesen and Horowitz would look ridiculous in that costume, with their bald heads glistening in the studio lights; they'd look more like the "Coneheads" than super heroes. But, a Batman and Robin costume is another matter, they could pull that off no problem -- and it would perfectly illustrate their close working relationship.
Tim Draper has the physique, and the hair, to look good as "Captain America" (photo below).
Mr Draper is well known for his playful, eccentric nature and he loves dressing in costumes. He does it even when he's not posing for magazine covers. The top photo is when I bumped into him courtside at the Golden State Warriors earlier this year. It was "Bollywood Night" but only he and the cheerleaders were dressed in theme.