- In a lengthy feature article this week, Fortune's Polina Marinova chronicled the downfall of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, once the premier venture firm in Silicon Valley.
- Marinova reports that part of the firm's downfall was high turnover by some of the firm's most up-and-coming investors.
- Some of Silicon Valley's most prominent venture capital firms were started by former Kleiner Perkins investors, including Khosla Ventures and Defy Partners.
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Fortune's Polina Marinova published a lenghty feature story chronicling the series of bad decisions that led Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, once Silicon Valley's premier venture firm, to lose its edge.
One of the critical flaws, Marinova reports, was the firm's lack of a succession plan during a time when longtime leader John Doerr planned to step back from day-to-day operations. Rather than promoting the highly skilled team of investors internally, Fortune says Doerr instead decided to tap Mamoon Hamid from Social Capital, an outside firm that Doerr had invested in.
Mary Meeker, head of Kleiner Perkins growth fund, was one of the firm's highest profile departures in September 2018, but even before that, a series of partners exited the Sand Hill Road institution to start their own firms.
Here are some of the hottest names in venture capital that used to work at Silicon Valley's aging "gold standard" firm.