Tim Draper, the man credited with creating viral marketing, as well as being instrumental in the success of Hotmail, Skype, eBay, Baidu and Overture, will be in Trinity College Dublin this week to be honoured by the university and to tell budding tech start-ups how it’s done.
Draper, who manages funds estimated at US$7 billion, will be honoured at Dublin’s Trinity College on Friday, 20 November. He will become an honorary patron of Trinity College’s University Philosophical Society.
Draper will also speak to Irish entrepreneurs and investors at a special public lecture in Dublin on the same day.
Draper is famed for his investments in Skype, Hotmail and Overture. He has been consistently ranked by Forbes and Always On magazines as one of the world’s most successful venture capitalists.
In 2008, Always On magazine ranked him as the No 1 venture capital deal maker in the world.
Speaking from California, Draper said he was “very flattered and very excited.” He added he “looked forward to becoming an honorary patron of the University Philosophical Society and, most especially, meeting and speaking with students and staff of the university.”
Draper added that he looks forward to meeting and speaking with “budding Irish entrepreneurs and investors” at his special public lecture on investment and growing a business.
With the Trinity College honour, he joins an elite group that includes Senator John McCain, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and actor Al Pacino, all of whom have been honoured at Trinity in recent years for their exceptional achievements.
Draper, credited with creating viral marketing, also sits on the boards of numerous technology companies, which include Glam, Tagworld, SocialText, Kyte.tv, Meebo and Wigix.
Draper’s public lecture should be of particular interest to Irish investors and entrepreneurs. Full details will be available on the Lectures Ireland website.
For an exclusive video interview with Tim Draper, click here: 
By John Kennedy
Photo: Venture capitalist Tim Draper.
