Benchmark Capital decides to buy Ebay.
The tech world was thriving back in 1995 but in a different way. Everyone remembers the .com craze and the eventual crash that followed, but most don’t stop to consider the various successes. One of the biggest ‘home runs’ was made by Benchmark Capital, an investment group out of California. The investment firm was started by four co-founders who promised to share all profits with one another. They won a bidding war to help fund a fledgling auction site by the name of eBay back in 1995. By 1995 their $6.7 million investment had turned into $6.8 billion dollars isn today’s currency. Knowing when to get in on the ground floor of something special has been the driving force in making millionaires out of these investment groups. You can spend days reading about the successes and failures of people during this period.
Benchmark Capital decides to buy Ebay
Peter Thiel gets into Facebook, early.
One of the best business decisions ever made was accomplished by Mark Zuckerberg when he decided to go on his own and establish Facebook. A close second would be when Peter Thiel slapped down $500,000 in order to help make Facebook happen. His money landed him 10% of Facebook’s stake. This was in 2005, back when Myspace still ruled the social crowd. It wasn’t long until Facebook took over and by 2012 Thiel had seen his group, the Founders Fund, rake in a cool $400 million off of their investment. While Thiel sold off 80% of his stock, he still has stake in the company today.
Peter Thiel gets into Facebook, early