<aside> 🏃 We build lasting founders
Starting companies is an endurance sport
We believe that having the courage to tackle a problem in this world by starting a company is a superhuman task. Any founder, who decided to start a company, is a superhuman. We take a lot of pride in being able to play a small role in their journeys and train them to go from human to superhuman by building endurance.
Enduring companies are built by enduring founders.
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<aside> 🏠 We run the largest residential programs in Silicon Valley and take no equity up front
Founded in Silicon Valley in 2012 by Tim Draper.
Draper University (also known as "DraperU” or “DU") is a venture capital firm that trains and backs entrepreneurs building the future through technology. Part of the wider Draper ecosystem of companies, we invest from pre-seed to Series A and are sector agnostic.
In the last 12 years we have:
Draper funds in the last three decades have invested in some of the most iconic companies of our time. Products and services we still use, every day. Tesla, Skype, Twitter, Hotmail, Robinhood, Coinbase, SpaceX are some of these names you might recognize.
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<aside> 📅 Upcoming Programs
April 2025 - 5 week residency blockchain program (42,000 ADA) link
May 2025 - 5 week residency program (DeepTech) link
July 2025 - 3 week blockchain builder residency ($22k grant) link
Check out the links above to learn more and apply to each program! Book a call with one of our program managers if you have questions or want to do an introductory call before applying.
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Enabling people with big hairy audacious goals, is one of the most fulfilling things in the world. We work very hard behind the scenes to deliver the best experiences in the world with a focus on building lifelong camaraderie amongst our cohorts and community.
Think about how some of the best companies were started in the world and how wealth was created, like the Paypal mafia in Silicon Valley. Friends from University of Illinois and Stanford started a company with a crazy idea and couldn’t hire anyone so they turned to people they went to college with. Three odd years of working together and a $1.5 billion exit later, the early team went to build companies like Tesla, SpaceX, LinkedIn, Youtube, Affirm, Palantir, Yelp, Yammer and Kiva.
Networks like the Paypal mafia were born from college friendship or years of working together. College is 4 years of living in dorms, building friendships and these networks. We build these in 5 weeks through our flagship program.
What’s our secret sauce? We are the only venture business where the program is residential at this scale and our staff, from pre-seed investing teams to growth, spend time living with these founders on-campus.
You will hear from some of the most iconic people building and investing in the future of technology.
Some of our star alumni!
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We work with 200+ entrepreneurs a year, this is a picture of our graduation. Yes, they wear capes🦸🦸♀️ (Since 2012)
That’s our campus in San Mateo! (44E, 3rd Avenue, San Mateo, California) Just 15 min away from SF Airport.
Meet Deskla (Reception Desk + Tesla) at our co-working space, Hero City.
Another view of our iconic superhero themed co-working across the street. Draper Associates, Draper Dragon, Draper Venture Network and DNX Ventures teams operate out of here.
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We regularly host events with industry leaders. This picture is from an event with Doug Leone of Sequoia and Mar Herhenson of Pear VC.
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What our rooms look like. We can verify having lived in these very rooms that these beds are incredibly comfy.
This is what we call the Great Room. Co-work, co-learn and collaborate with entrepreneurs every day.
"You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future" — Steve Jobs