Tim Draper: Why You Should Know This Influencer
Since the early days of Bitcoin, people have made a name for themselves in the cryptocurrency industry for achieving various feats. Since the industry is still in its infancy stages, a lot of its professionals entered from other sectors including finance and software development. This means that they had acquired a significant amount of knowledge and experience that could easily be applied to cryptocurrency.
In such a new industry, these types professionals are needed to guide growth and development, from investment to the creation of innovative solutions. One example of such a professional is Tim Draper, the billionaire venture capitalist who has quickly become an influencer within the cryptocurrency space.
Who is Tim Draper?
Tim Draper is a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, best known for his entrepreneurship achievements as well as his larger-than-life Bitcoin predictions. He first came in contact with digital currencies about 15 years ago and was one of the early Bitcoin investors. Although he lost all his BTC when Mt.Gox fell, Draper quickly accumulated a sizeable Bitcoin fortune later. The value of his cryptocurrency assets is reportedly between $350 million and $500 million.
He attended Stanford University, where he received a degree in electrical engineering and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Long after founding his Venture firm, he served on the California State Board of Education between 1998 and 1999. While there, he led a movement for Local Choice in schools which in turn led to the development of a statewide initiative for School Vouchers.
Draper went ahead to create BizWorld, a nonprofit that teaches young children about business and entrepreneurship. Over the years, Tim Draper has continued to champion several initiatives, including one known as SixCalifornias. The project aims to create six new states within California as a way to foster competition and government choice.
Showing further interest in education, he founded the Draper University of Heroes in 2011. The university, which is based in San Mateo, CA, is both a residential and online school which aids people with accomplishing their life goals.
What is Draper University?
Tim Draper founded the Draper University on the simple belief that people cannot truly change the world without changing education. His vision for the school is to create professionals who can contribute positively to global development using their learned skills.
The university aims to teach global entrepreneurship in a new and better way, for optimum results. To accomplish this, it employs a new and innovative curriculum, hands-on training and thought leadership techniques that connect startup founders, executives, young entrepreneurs, and investors. Draper University will also star in Startup U, the new ABC Family series.
What is His Involvement in Venture Capital?
Tim Draper’s rich venture capital background began with the founding of Draper Associates, an early-stage venture capital firm, in 1985. He also founded the Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) when he was joined by John Fisher and Steve Jurvetson who entered the company as partners.
Draper, Fisher, and Jurvetson made early investments in successful companies such as Hotmail, Baidu, Skype, Tesla, Overture and Theranos, among others. Draper Associates, on the other hand, made significant investments in Indiegogo, Twitch.TV, Parametric Technology, AngelList, YeePay, and DocuSign.
In addition to heading these firms, Tim Draper is also credited with the creation of viral marketing, a technique that spreads a software application between customers. This technique played a defining role in the eventual success of Hotmail, Skype, Yahoo! Mail and even Gmail, among hundreds of other companies.
Draper also founded a global network of venture funds, known as the DFJ/Draper Network. Members of the network work closely together, to improve the service rendered to entrepreneurs in 30 different cities around the world.
With his achievements, Tim Draper has not been left out of financial watchlists. He ranked 46th on the list of the Most Outstanding Harvard alumni as well as 7th on the Forbes Midas List, 1st on the list of Most Networked Venture Capitalists by Always On, and 98th on the 2014 list of 100 Most Powerful People in Finance, by Worth Magazine.
Over the years, he has accumulated awards and honorary achievements that have set him apart from other influencers within the space. He is also often in the press for his unwavering support of entrepreneurship. Despite seeing so many new technologies in his rich and long career as a venture capitalist, Draper has shown that he is still willing to embrace emerging concepts and technologies.
This is evident in his recent show of interest in investing in Tezos, a blockchain network which will accommodate automatic updates on its platform. According to Draper, he will participate in the company’s Initial Coin Offering (ICO) later in the year. Acceptance by such a prominent figure may go a long way in adding credibility to this type of investment. This comes at a time when tensions in the industry are rising due to the issue of ICO regulation.
How is Tim Draper Influencing the Cryptocurrency Industry?
Just like most other cryptocurrency influencers, Tim Draper has also made predictions concerning the performance of Bitcoin. In 2014, he predicted that BTC would reach $10,000 in three years. At the time, it seemed bizarre but by December 2017, Bitcoin had surpassed that price point by almost double.
It was revealed that the prediction was made based on his belief that Bitcoin would become easier for people to use, thereby encouraging exchange between users as well as use as a store of value. Following the unexpected rise of Bitcoin, the latest predictions by various experts seem even larger and more impossible than the last. One example is a prediction by Kay Van-Petersen, an analyst at Saxo bank who predicted that Bitcoin will hit $100,000 by the end of 2018.
Tim Draper has also published a new prediction, stating that the price of BTC will soar to $250,000 by 2022. The prediction has inspired several thought pieces by cryptocurrency professionals who cannot dispute it without taking Draper’s past experience and accuracy into account. This new Draper prediction is based on the belief that cryptocurrency will eventually become more accessible, maybe even replacing credit cards completely.
Since people will be able to spend BTC on everyday items and services, more people will adopt it, leading to a price increase. He also believes that as a result of this adoption, there will be a significant expansion in the virtual currency market. He claims that the market will grow to a value of $100 trillion while the fiat currency market will fall from $80 trillion to $30 trillion. In time, digital currencies may even replace their fiat counterparts completely.
Final Thoughts
Tim Draper is one of the most popular people, not just in cryptocurrency, but in finance as a whole. His contributions to entrepreneurship and education have not gone unnoticed within the community. However, the accuracy of his predictions is one of the major factors that set him apart. Coupled with his experience and investment knowledge, he easily has the ability to influence the investment decisions that users make.
According to his latest prediction, there will be enough cryptocurrency adoption within four years, to drive the price of Bitcoin up to $250,000. While such figures may sound implausible, investors must remember that only a small amount of people currently own cryptocurrency globally. The fast rate of development within this industry may influence major adoption at any time, leading to such high values.
