Building Wealth through Venture Capital

Acknowledgments

There are so many people to thank that we fear that we'll forget some. For those not identified here, please accept our apologies, along with our sincere thanks.

Our biggest thanks go to our wives, Sharon Batterson and Randy Freeman. Both have lived through multiple decades with the authors, their driven husbands. Just when they thought we were finally slowing down to a normal pace and workload, we decided to write this book to share our knowledge and experience with interested investors and entrepreneurs. Writing a book is a long, hard process. So, Sharon and Randy, thanks for continuing to put up with us!

Our next round of thanks goes to our predecessors and contemporaries in the venture capital industry, from whom we've gained inspiration and knowledge. Thanks as well to the investors who have placed their trust in our team, and to the entrepreneurs we've had the opportunity to work with, from whose shared experiences we've also learned, while having the opportunity at the same time to build wealth for our investors, our colleagues, and our families.

Among this latter group, special gratitude is due to: the late Jim Kimsey and the still very active Steve Case, the individuals most responsible for the tremendous success of AOL, as well as our Harvard Business School classmate George Middlemas, also critical to the startup and development of AOL, which contributed so importantly to Len's career growth; Sanford Morganstein, former president and CEO of the Dytel ...