Title
Johnson, Franklin (Pitch) oral historyCatalog Number
102795132Type
Moving imageDescription
Pitch Johnson is a pioneering venture capitalist and cofounder of early firm Draper & Johnson Investment Company. In this oral history he discusses his decades-long career in venture capital and his work with foundational Silicon Valley technology companies. He begins by describing his early years and education at Stanford University and Harvard Business School. After Harvard, he served in the Air Force during the Korean War. Johnson then worked in the steel mill at Inland Steel in East Chicago, Indiana, where he met Bill Draper. In 1962, Draper convinced Johnson to leave Inland Steel and move to Palo Alto, CA, to start a venture capital firm through the small business investment company (SBIC) program.Johnson describes the early days of Draper & Johnson Investment Company, driving around Palo Alto to find deals and investing in companies like Illumitronics and Behavioral Research Laboratories. He recalls missing a chance to invest in Intel, thanks to Arthur Rock. In 1965, Sutter Hill bought Draper & Johnson’s portfolio, and Johnson and Draper parted ways. That same year, Johnson founded his own firm, Asset Management, which invested in innovative companies like Coherent Radiation, Cromatronix, Boole & Babbage, Teradyne, Tandem Computers, Applied Bio, Applied Micro and Amgen. Johnson describes missing out on investments in Apple and Genentech.
Johnson also discusses his engagements with venture capital outside of his firm. He taught a course about venture capital at Stanford, helped found the Western Association of Venture Capitalists, and was chairman of the international committee for the National Venture Capital Association. He also helped form and guide the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and has been active in the Hoover Institution. He shares thoughts on the future of Silicon Valley and the venture capital industry. To close the interview, he discusses his philanthropic and personal involvements.
Date
2019-09-12Participants
| Hancock, Marguerite Gong, Interviewer |
| Johnson, Franklin Pitcher, Interviewee |
Publisher
Computer History MuseumPlace of Publication
Mountain View, CADuration
02:41:30Format
MOVCategory
Oral historyCollection Title
CHM Oral History CollectionCredit
Computer History MuseumLot Number
X9152.2020Related Records
| 102795131 | Johnson, Franklin (Pitch) oral history |