Bill Gurley

General partner, Benchmark Capital

Bill Gurley was arguably the most important investor of 2013.

He's been investing for more than a decade, but last year, two of his firm's investments became multibillion-dollar companies. Benchmark invested in Snapchat's Series A round in 2012, and the company is now worth $2 billion.

Gurley is also on Uber's board of directors, and leaked financials show Uber is generating $20 million a week.