No Red Lights: Reflections on Life, 50 Years in Venture Capital, and Never Driving Alone

As featured in The Wall Street Journal!

One of Business Insider's "5 Best Leadership Books I Read This Year" for 2022!

A look back at entrepreneurial growth and venture capital in the last half century by one of the leading figures in the industry.

Extensive media and online coverage of the business arena, news of start-ups, mergers, and deals are familiar headlines these days. But that wasn't always the case. The early years of venture capital were a far cry from today's very public dealings. Alan Patricof, one of the pioneers of the venture arena, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the past fifty years of the industry. From buying stock in Apple when its market valuation was only $60 million to founding New York Magazine to investing in AOL, Audible, and more recently, Axios, his discerning approach to finding companies is almost peerless.

All of Patricof's investments--from Xerox to Venmo--share certain qualities. Each company had sound product with wide appeal, the economics were solid, and the management team was talented and committed to seeing their visions come to fruition.

ISBN-13: 9781637582930

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Post Hill Press

Publication Date: 05-03-2022

Pages: 248

Product Dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

Alan Patricof has started three separate successful firms that have made a mark on the venture community over the past fifty years. These firms have participated in the financing at an early stage of more than 500 companies including Apple Computer, AOL, Office Depot, Cellular Communications, New York Magazine, Audible, Huffington Post, Sunglass Hut, Axios, and the list goes on. In addition to his professional business career, he has lived an eclectic life participating in politics, art, theatre, and international development, while being a 5x marathon runner, a world traveler, and a person who lives life to its fullest. At age eighty-seven, he is still working full-time, rides a bike twenty miles a weekend, hikes several times a week, and is pursuing an active personal life. He was married for fifty years to his extraordinary wife, Susan, until she passed away from Alzheimer’s last year. He lives in NYC and has three sons and seven grandchildren.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Chapter 1 You Get Where You're Going from Where You've Been 1

Chapter 2 Sitting Shotgun 7

Chapter 3 Taking the Wheel 42

Chapter 4 Steering My Own Route 69

Chapter 5 Driving on the Left Side of the Road 110

Chapter 6 Road Trips in Politics and Volunteering 142

Chapter 7 Carving a New Path 173

Chapter 8 My Next Trip 227

Acknowledgments 233

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