{"id":36469,"date":"2026-02-04T23:56:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T15:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/?p=36469"},"modified":"2026-02-05T10:20:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T02:20:46","slug":"something-ventured","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/02\/04\/something-ventured\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Something Ventured&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/02\/04\/something-ventured\/#Introduction\" >Introduction<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/02\/04\/something-ventured\/#Title\" >Title<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/02\/04\/something-ventured\/#Contents\" >Contents<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/02\/04\/something-ventured\/#Purpose\" >Purpose<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/02\/04\/something-ventured\/#The_value_of_this_film\" >The value of this film<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/02\/04\/something-ventured\/#Companies_mentioned_in_this_film\" >Companies mentioned in this film<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/02\/04\/something-ventured\/#Entrepreneurs_mentioned_in_this_film\" >Entrepreneurs mentioned in this film<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/02\/04\/something-ventured\/#Related_books\" >Related books<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/02\/04\/something-ventured\/#Related_articles\" >Related articles<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Introduction\"><\/span>Introduction<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Title\"><\/span>Title<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1737747\/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Something Ventured<\/a>&#8221; is a 2011 American documentary film that discusses the rise of venture capitalism in the United States in the mid-20th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Contents\"><\/span>Contents<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Purpose\"><\/span>Purpose<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This film includes interviews with famous American venture capitalists and entrepreneurs from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, as well as archival photography and video. It mainly tells the story of venture capital by technology investors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_value_of_this_film\"><\/span>The value of this film<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The value of this film lies in the precious video footage of many of the parties&#8217; personal stories. It is well worth watching for those who want to understand the rise of Silicon Valley, venture capital, and the founding of the technology industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Companies_mentioned_in_this_film\"><\/span>Companies mentioned in this film<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This film tells the story of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs working together to create and develop companies such as Apple, Intel, Genentech, Cisco, Atari, and Tandem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Entrepreneurs_mentioned_in_this_film\"><\/span>Entrepreneurs mentioned in this film<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Entrepreneurs mentioned in the film include: Gordon Moore (co-founder of Intel), Jimmy Trebiger (founder of Tandem), Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari), Herbert Boyer (co-founder of Genentech), Mike Markkula (second CEO of Apple), Sandy Lerner (co-founder of Genentech), and Mike Markkula (second president of Apple).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"90\" height=\"109\" src=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Something-Ventured-Custom.jpg\" alt=\"Something Ventured\" class=\"wp-image-36470\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_books\"><\/span><strong>Related books<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to know more about and Peter Thiel, his companies and startups,  you can refer to the following three other books by PayPal Mafia members that are influential in Silicon Valley and the venture capital community:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/06\/06\/zero-to-one\/\">Zero to One<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building\/dp\/0062273205\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Hard Thing About Hard Things<\/a>&#8221; by A16Z co-founder Ben Horowitz.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/PayPal-Wars-Battles-Hardcover-September\/dp\/B010EWMMRW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PayPal Wars<\/a>&#8221; by former PayPal executive Eric Jackson<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Alliance-Managing-Talent-Networked-Age\/dp\/1625275773\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Alliance<\/a>&#8221; by former deputy general manager of PayPal and founder of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After Reid Hoffman sold LinkedIn, which he founded, to Microsoft, he founded a well-known artificial intelligence startup, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Inflection_AI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Inflection.ai<\/a>, and is currently focusing on running this compan<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_articles\"><\/span>Related articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/02\/04\/something-ventured\/\">Something Ventured<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/06\/08\/essays-by-marc-anderson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Two famous essays by Marc Anderson on software and artificial intelligence<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/26\/startup-issues-people-care\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Startup issues that most people care about<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/04\/29\/y-combinator\/\">How is Y Combinator different from other venture capital firms?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/10\/24\/angel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Angel is an excellent venture capital  book for ordinary people<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/05\/29\/don-valentine-sequoia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Don Valentine, founder of Sequoia Capital, father of Silicon Valley Venture Capital<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/10\/24\/angel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Angel is an excellent venture capital  book for ordinary people<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/06\/08\/essays-by-marc-anderson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Two famous essays by Marc Anderson on software and artificial intelligence<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/06\/06\/zero-to-one\/\">Zero to One<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/10\/16\/venture-capital-unicorns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Venture capital and unicorns introduction<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/02\/17\/venture-capital-and-unicorn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Global Venture Capital and Unicorn Report<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/06\/24\/traitorous-eight\/\">Traitorous Eight, the origin of the semiconductor and venture capital industries<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/10\/16\/venture-capital-unicorns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Venture capital and unicorns introduction<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/02\/17\/venture-capital-and-unicorn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Global Venture Capital and Unicorn Report<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/08\/09\/the-power-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Power Law<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/06\/06\/airbnbs-is-competitive\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Airbnb&#8217;s unique offering is competitive<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>The content of this site is the author\u2019s personal opinions and is for reference only. I am not responsible for the correctness, opinions, and immediacy of the content and information of the article. Readers must make their own judgments.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>I shall not be liable for any damages or other legal liabilities for the direct or indirect losses caused by the readers&#8217; direct or indirect reliance on and reference to the information on this site, or all the responsibilities arising therefrom, as a result of any investment behavior.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The value of &#8220;Something Ventured&#8221; lies in the precious video recordings of many parties&#8217; personal stories. It is worth watching for those who want to understand the rise of Silicon Valley in the United States, venture capital, and the founding of the technology industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36470,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85,1494],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-venture-capital","category-documentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36469"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40802,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36469\/revisions\/40802"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}