EIGHT
THE BIRTH OF VENTURE CAPITAL
(1951–1956)
A FEW MINUTES BEFORE 1 p.m. on a Monday afternoon in September 1949, Georges Doriot marched into a classroom in Baker Hall on the Harvard Business School campus. It was the first day of his Manufacturing class. The professor, showing everyone who was boss, shut the door precisely as the clock struck the top of the hour. No one would be allowed to enter his class after it began. Doriot viewed his class as a business meeting. That meant strict enforcement of punctuality and a dress code of coats and ties.
“Gentleman,” said General Doriot to a room of 150 students, “what I have to say, I shall say only once.” The students, all turned out in dark suits, crisp white shirts, and somber ties, shifted toward ...
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