Gary Lauder is a venture capitalist and the Managing Director of Lauder Partners, LLC., a Silicon-Valley based venture capitalist firm. He has degrees in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania, economics from the Wharton School, and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. He has invested in over 160 private companies, mostly in the technology or communications industries. In the film Innovation Race, he described the “venture” in venture capitalism as being short for “adventure,” and after spending time with Gary it is clear that he has a passion for the adventures he embarks on every time he helps a start-up business or inventor with their innovative ideas. As an investor, Gary has a unique perspective on the importance of patents and the various improvements that need to be made to protect inventors and harness the American spirit of innovation.