Something Ventured Film ? How Entrepreneurs & Venture Capitalists

October 9, 2012

Miralan Productions and KQED present
Something Ventured, an award-winning documentary that looks at the early investors behind revolutionary technology companies like?

?Apple, Intel, Genentech, Atari and Cisco. These original venture capitalists were the first to fund and build companies that led to the birth of whole industries, from microprocessors and personal computers to biotechnology and the Internet.

Something Ventured is scheduled to begin airing nationally on public television in January 2013 (check local listings) and in the Bay Area on KQED 9.

The film, which premiered at South by Southwest in 2011, shows how a few fearless individuals built an industry that would go on to finance nearly all of the major technology advancements of the past 50 years. Our lives would be completely different without their contributions and we can learn a lot today from the culture of entrepreneurship and innovation they helped to create.

Here is what is in store for you in Something Ventured, from Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine:

- Captivating interviews with the people who rolled the dice on inventors and scientists long before ?venture capitalist? was introduced to the popular lexicon.

- Tons of great one-liners, like, ?Steve Jobs is a national treasure. He is so visionary and so bright? I had to fire him, though.? ? Arthur Rock, early investor in Apple and Intel

- Historic photos and footage including fun clips of the first video games and home computers. Remember Pong, anyone?!

- Comical failures and regrets of famous entrepreneurs like Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, who passed on an opportunity to buy a third of Apple for $50,000 in 1977. (He would be worth more than $200 billion today. Ouch!!!)

- Accounts of historic milestones. Dr. Herbert Boyer, Genentech?s co-founder, remembers the day that university scientific research met business investment and ?biotech? was born.

- Where are they now? The snappy and engaging credit bed keeps viewers from flipping the channel by resolving what investors and founders did with their experience, wisdom ? and millions.

Program Treatment:

Something Ventured tells the story of a handful of risk-takers who alongside visionary entrepreneurs created revolutionary companies. It tells the story of the creation of an industry that went on to become the single greatest engine of innovation and economic growth in the 20th century. Entertaining and poignant, it is told by the visionary risk-takers who dared to make it happen: Tom Perkins, Don Valentine, Arthur Rock, Dick Kramlich and others. The film also includes some of our finest entrepreneurs sharing how they worked with these venture capitalists to start and grow world-class companies like Intel, Apple, Cisco, Atari, Genentech, Tandem and others.

Beginning in the late 1950?s, this small group of high rollers fostered a one-of-a-kind business culture that encouraged extraordinary risk and made possible unprecedented rewards. They laid the groundwork for America?s start-up economy, providing not just the capital but the guidance to allow seedling companies to reach their full potential. This small group of individuals would go on to finance nearly every major technology advancement over the past 50 years. They laid the groundwork for our startup economy. Our lives would be dramatically different without the contributions that these venture capitalists made to the creation of PCs, the Internet and biotechnology.

The recent scandals in big business are unpardonable. But for every Bernie Madoff, Enron or Lehman Brothers, there are hundreds of companies getting it right and having a blast doing it. Something Ventured offers a peek into a lighter, but equally dramatic, side of business?at a time when encouraging innovation is key to preserving our competitive edge. The lives and contributions of these characters are a source of inspiration?not just for entrepreneurs and investors, but for anyone who has a dream and the passion to pursue it no matter the odds.

Website and Social Media:

Website: somethingventuredthemovie.com
Facebook: facebook.com/somethingventuredthemovie
Twitter: twitter.com/venturemovie (#somethingventured, #venturemovie)
YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=mRmFQ3Jm1aw
Something Ventured ? Social Media Kit (pdf)
Something Ventured ? Member Guide Article (pdf)

Media Contact:
Molly Davis, 925-296-6104, molly@rainmakercommunications.com
You may also visit the program website?s press page for more photos and info.

Quotes from Interviewees in the Documentary

?I don?t know how to write a business plan. I can only tell you how we read them. We start at the back and if the numbers are big, we look at the front to see what kind of business it is.? ?Tom Perkins, Co-Founder of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and early investor in Genentech and Tandem Computer

?Steve Jobs is a national treasure. He is so visionary, and so bright. I had to fire him though.? ?Arthur Rock, Founder of Arthur Rock & Co., and early investor in Intel and Apple Computer

?I?m not interested in entrepreneurs who will do it our way. I?m not interested in entrepreneurs who think there?s a dress code. I?m interested in entrepreneurs who have a vision of doing something consequential?preferably that becomes BIG.? ?Don Valentine, Founder of Sequoia Capital and early investor in Apple, Cisco and Atari

?You gotta get money from strong people. Because weak people don?t invest in tough times. But that?s when most of the big winners are created.? ?Jimmy Treybig, Founder of Tandem Computer

?They (Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak) offered a third of Apple Computer for $50,000 and I said, ?Gee, I don?t think so.? I could have owned a third of Apple Computer for $50,000. BIG mistake.? ?Nolan Bushnell, Founder of Atari

?At Cisco, being a woman and a technical woman, I think I was just very, very frightening. And there wasn?t a box for me. And I think I didn?t make it particularly easy for them to ignore me.? ?Sandy Lerner, Co-Founder of Cisco Systems

?The quarter I arrived, we hired a shrink. He eliminated fighting in the open hallways. Physical fighting, I mean.? ?John Mortgridge, CEO of Cisco Systems

?Without venture capital, the future wouldn?t happen nearly as quickly.? ?Nolan Bushnell, Founder of ATARI

Production Team:

Executive Producers: Paul Holland & Molly Davis
Directors: Dayna Goldfine & Dan Geller
Writers: Dan Geller, Dayna Goldfine, Jen Bradwell, Gary Weimberg and Celeste Schaefer Snyder
Producers: Dayna Goldfine, Dan Geller and Celeste Schaefer Snyder
Director of Photography: Dan Geller
Editors: Jen Bradwell and Gary Weimberg
Composer: Laura Karpman

About KQED

KQED (kqed.org) has served Northern California for more than 50 years and is affiliated with NPR and PBS. KQED owns and operates public television stations KQED 9 (San Francisco/Bay Area), KQED Plus (San Jose/Bay Area) and KQET 25 (Watsonville/Monterey); KQED Public Radio (88.5 FM San Francisco); kqed.org and KQEDnews.org; and KQED Education. KQED Public Television, one of the most-watched public television stations in the country, is the producer/presenter of national programs such as Sound Tracks; California Forever; and Essential P?pin. KQED Public Radio is the most-listened-to public radio station in the nation and the most popular in the Bay Area. Visit www.kqed.org for more information.

About NETA

The National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA, netaonline.org) is a professional association that serves public television and education by providing quality programming, educational resources, professional development, management support, and national representation. NETA distributes over 2,000 hours of programming each year to public television stations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Source: http://blogs.kqed.org/pressroom/2012/10/09/something-ventured-film-on-public-television/

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