Investment in an Age of Technology Distruption
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The Dark Side of Silicon Valley
ABOUT THIS SERIES For the past 10 months, Chronicle staff writers Reynolds Holding and William Carlsen investigated allegations of widespread legal and ethical misconduct in Silicon Valley. This five-part series is based upon thousands of pages of financial reports, internal company memorandums, government records and court documents, as well as scores of interviews with corporate executives, government officials, state and federal prosecutors, judges, lawyers, academicians and entrepreneurs. Some of those court documents were unsealed only as a result of a court order obtained by The Chronicle in San Mateo Superior Court. PHANTOM RICHES Beneath the glitter of booming Silicon Valley, executives have been accused of lying about their products and doctoring their books, leaving devastated investors in their wake FIRST OF FIVE PARTS Silicon Valley is the epicenter for the fastest creation of wealth in history. But the high-tech miracle has a dark side: Untold stories of ruined investors, betrayed entrepreneurs and regulators who are overmatched and overwhelmed. In 1989, Lev Dawson scoured Stanford University's Jackson Library, searching for a shot at Silicon Valley gold. He found it in an unproven idea for making laptop and cell phone batteries smaller, lighter and longer-lasting. With venture capital backing, Dawson created Valence Technology Inc., and during the next four years the batterymaker issued more than $167 million in stock and signed potentially lucrative contracts with Motorola and Hewlett-Packard. Unfortunately, the batteries had a few problems. They sparked and exploded and burned. One burst into flames so intense that it melted through the factory's tile floor and into the concrete foundation. -
From Apple to NETSCAPE to Hewlett-Packard to Youtube, Larry Sonsini Ha S Been the Most Important Lawyer in the Most Important I Ndustry for 30 Years
FORTUNENovember 27, 2006 THE MAN T O SEE IN THE VALLEY FROM APPLE TO NETSCAPE TO HEWLETT-PacKARD TO YOUTUBE, LARRY SONsiNI HA S BEEN THE MOST IMPORTANT LAWYER IN THE MOST IMPORTANT I NDUSTRY FOR 30 YEARS. NOW HIS LEGacY IS UNDER scRUTINY as THE TWIN scan DALS OF OPTIOns BacKDATING anD “PRETEXTING” RAISE THE QUESTION: I S HE TOO CLOSE TO THE COMPanIES HE REPRESENTS? BY ROGER PARLOFF “I first remember hearing Larry Sonsini’sname probably in the industry. But he’s more. Sonsini, 65, is an integral part in 1986 or 1987,” says Dave Roux, who co-founded Silver Lake of Silicon Valley’s history and culture. He’s the unflappable, Partners, a private-equity firm in eM nlo Park Calif., focusing low-key business advisor everyone trusts, which is saying a lot on technology investments. in a community of super-smart, hyperaggressive egomaniacs. Back then, when Roux lived on the East Coast, he was at a He’s the behind-the-scenes player to whom the executives at meeting of the board of Lotus Development in Boston, when the most innovative companies of the Digital Age take all their someone suggested they find the “East Coast Larry Sonsini” to toughest business problems. act as their lawyer. Larry Who? Roux asked. “They explained This year, though, Sonsini’s 40th with the Palo Alto firm of to me that he was the Larry Bird of Silicon Valley,” he says. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, he’s found himself shoved “The go-to guy when you need the thing to work. -
Business Plan
myCFO Business Plan January 5, 2000 STARS0031068 Proprietary & Confidential I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY myCFOis a unique professional financial services firm focused on providing comprehensive,tailored financial solutions for individuals in varying stages of wealth accumulation. While myCFO’scurrent focus is dedicated to the $5 million and above high net worth (HNW)market in the United States, the companywill also extend its services in the near term serve other markets both internationally and in the U.S. Primary Market: U.S. high net worth households with $5 million and above HNhouseholds with $5 million or more in net worth spend an average of $145,000 per year per household on financial services, and comprise the most demandingand financially complexmarket for myCFO.Typically, these households use a variety of advisors for tax planning, investment planning, and wealth management.Additionally, these households also employpersonal staffs, whichmight include bookkeepers,drivers, nannies or pilots, all of whom need to be managed.As a result, HNWindividuals face a complicated, time intensive integration process to managetheir total financial situation, and ultimately are liable if anything goes wrong. myCFOcurrently provides an unsurpassed service offering to this segment by combining personalized financial counseling with state-of-the-art, Internet technology(the Online Service Offering). Each client has a single point of contact with a Client Service Director whoprovides a core offering of tax services, including individual tax consulting, tax planning, complianceand accountingservices. In addition, the Client Service Director provides a single point of contact for a full suite of specialty services, whichare providedthrough Specialty Directors with in- depth knowledgeon specific areas. -
FY17 Annual Report
FISCAL 2017 REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY Cover: Detail of the Felt & Tarrant Comptometer (ca. 1926−1939): Although machines with as many as 16 columns were listed in the company’s catalog, this 12-column version was apparently the largest ever built. (Photo © Mark Richards) This Page: Detail of the Google Crayon Graph drawn by some of the company’s fi rst engineers to track query growth. A VERY GOOD YEAR LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN I am happy to report that the fi scal year ending • We launched the Center for Software History, June 30, 2017, was a very good one for the Com- a major initiative for research into the evolution puter History Museum (chm). On an operational and future implications of software. The center basis we again were in the black, as we have been explores both the history and the impact of software for many years. Our revenue stream continues to by collecting artifacts, preserving code, recreating be a diversifi ed mix of ticketing, gift shop and running systems, and interviewing pioneers and café, venue rental, endowment draw, and, of course, participants. It uses all of this to understand the generous donations of our supporters. Contri- and call attention to the cultural transformation butions to the unrestricted annual fund were up 23 that software is producing. percent, which is the largest year-to-year increase ever. Thank you! • The Exponential Center, which we launched last Our balance sheet is strong, with over $63 year to capture the legacy and advance the future million in net assets. We rejoice in the fact that we of entrepreneurship, continues to expand.