Network World, 01/04/99

JOHN DOERR PARTNER, KLEINER PERKINS CAUFIELD & BYERS

Money makes the (network) world go around and when it comes to cash, John Doerr is the most visible money man in one of the most visible venture capital firms in the busy world of networking.

Through KPCB, Doerr has funded some of the leading lights in the network, Internet and software industries. We'll just give you a partial list of the KPCB offspring. @Home. Amazon.com. AOL. Excite. Intuit. Citrix. Ascend. Extreme. Shiva. Sun. Netscape. Juniper Networks. Platinum Software. Sybase. Tivoli.

Get the idea? KPCB claims to have had a hand in the creation of more than 100 publicly traded companies, with another 80 on the way. According to its Web site, the firm has raised more than $1.2 billion in capital and has invested in companies with a total market value exceeding $80 billion.

Not only does Doerr steer a big chunk of KPCB's money, he's become one of the leading players in the industry's nascent political efforts. As co-founder of the Technology Network political action group, Doerr and his high-tech pals, including Netscape's Jim Barksdale, have quietly been stirring things up in Washington, D.C. (Doerr is a friend of Al - Gore, that is.) While impeachment talk stalled other legislative efforts, it didn 't stop Silicon Valley from getting Congress to keep its tax grubbies off the Internet for the time being and to loosen restrictions on visas for foreign knowledge workers.

DOERR'S CHALLENGE: The challenge for Doerr is the same as it's always been: Finding the next AOL among the start-ups begging for cash. And deciding just how far into politics he wants to wade (Gore-Doerr in 2000?).

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