About Don Valentine
Donald Thomas Valentine was an American venture capitalist who concentrated mainly on technology companies in the United States. Born and educated in New York, Valentine first came to California during a brief period of military service, an experience that ultimately led him to remain in the region where he would later shape the venture capital industry. Valentine was the founder of Sequoia Capital, and is a major name for venture investing in Silicon Valley. Valentine was known for a blunt, Socratic investment style that emphasized large markets, early inflection points and humble founders, shaping Sequoia's reputation for discipline in early-stage technology investing. His approach to investing helped establish Sequoia Capital as an influential venture firm, backing companies such as Apple, Oracle, Cisco, Google, YouTube, NVIDIA, Airbnb, and WhatsApp. Valentine became convinced that the most transformational startups emerged at technological “inflection points,” where industry disruption created openings for new entrants. He later said that his Jesuit education at Fordham influenced his analytical style and interrogative, Socratic method of questioning that he became known for as an investor.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.