Sebastian Mallaby’s The Power Law is an incredible account of the history and evolution of the venture capital industry. We explore how power laws shape returns within a VC fund, where one investment can more than pay off for the entire rest of the fund. In Part 1, we discuss the early founding of liberation capital with Arthur Rock, the formation of historic firms Sequoia Capital & Kleiner Perkins, Apple taking advantage of the innovator’s dilemma, John Doerr dominating the 90s, Accel creating the first specialized firm, the arrival of Masa and growth investing, and Benchmark Capital’s big bet on eBay. 

The Power Law - Sebastian Mallaby