"Something Ventured" is a 2011 documentary film investigating the emergence of American

venture capitalism Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which hav ...

in the mid-20th century. ''Something Venture''d follows the stories of the venture capitalists who worked with entrepreneurs to start and build companies like

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 ser ...

Genentech Genentech, Inc., is an American biotechnology corporation headquartered in South San Francisco, California. It became an independent subsidiary of Roche in 2009. Genentech Research and Early Development operates as an independent center within ...

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc., founded in Sunnyvale, Ca ...

Tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

, and others, and looks at the influence of Georges Doriot. It is a full-length independent film which includes interviews with prominent American venture capitalists and entrepreneurs of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, as well as archival photography and footage. The film has aired across the US on local PBS stations as well as on public television in Norway. ''Something Ventured'' features the venture capitalists

Arthur Rock Arthur Rock (born August 19, 1926) is an American businessman and investor. Based in Silicon Valley, California, he was an early investor in major firms including Intel, Apple, Scientific Data Systems and Teledyne. Early life Rock was born and ...

, Tom Perkins,

Don Valentine Donald Thomas Valentine (June 26, 1932 – October 25, 2019) was an American venture capitalist who concentrated mainly on technology companies in the United States. He had been referred to as the "grandfather of Silicon Valley venture capital" ...

, Dick Kramlich, Reid Dennis, Bill Draper, Pitch Johnson, Bill Bowes, Bill Edwards, and Jim Gaither. The entrepreneurs featured in ''Something Ventured'' are

Gordon Moore Gordon Earle Moore (born January 3, 1929) is an American businessman, engineer, and the co-founder and chairman emeritus of Intel Corporation. He is also the original proponent of Moore's law. As of March 2021, Moore's net worth is repor ...

(co-founder of

), Jimmy Treybig (founder of

Nolan Bushnell Nolan Kay Bushnell (born February 5, 1943) is an American businessman and electrical engineer. He established Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre chain. He has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consu ...

(founder of

), Dr. Herbert Boyer (co-founder of

), Mike Markkula (second president/CEO of

), Sandy Lerner (co-founder of

), John Morgridge (early CEO of

), and Robert Campbell (founder of what would become

PowerPoint Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation program, created by Robert Gaskins and Dennis Austin at a software company named Forethought, Inc. It was released on April 20, 1987, initially for Macintosh computers only. Microsoft acquired Powe ...

). Something Ventured premiered at the

South by Southwest Film Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, T ...

in March 2011. The film was co-executive produced by Paul Holland and Molly Davis (of Rainmaker Communications). ''Something Ventured'' was directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine (co-directors of "Ballet Russes.) ''Something Ventured''’s North American distribution partner is

Zeitgeist Films Zeitgeist Films is a New York-based distribution company founded in 1988 which acquires and distributes films from the U.S. and around the world. In 2017, Zeitgeist entered into a multi-year strategic alliance with film distributor Kino Lorber. ...

Press

'Something Ventured'
April 24, 2011. ''San Francisco Chronicle''
'Something Ventured'
KQED Radio. April 22, 2011

Inc. April 22, 2011.
'Something Ventured' tells story of tech investors
''San Francisco Chronicle''. April 18, 2011 * Fox Business. April 14, 2011.
SXSW Reviews-Something Ventured
''Variety''. April 3, 2011
Holland Says New Film Features Early Venture Capitalists: Video
Bloomberg Television. March 18, 2011
A Risk Worth Taking
''The Dylan Ratigan Show''. March 15, 2011
SXSW: "Something Ventured" Directors Talk Venture Capital Early Days
TechNewsDaily. March 15, 2011
The Good Guys in Business
CNBC. March, 14th, 2011
Talking with the Directors of 'Something Ventured'
NBC. Austin, Texas. March 12, 2011
Veni Vidi Venture: The unlikely heroes of big business
''The Austin Chronicle''. March 11, 2011

External links

Official webpage
* {{IMDb title, 1737747 Documentary films about computer and internet entrepreneurs 2011 films American documentary films 2011 documentary films Documentary films about business 2010s English-language films 2010s American films