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Mary Meeker (left) and John Doerr
- In a report out Tuesday, Fortune's Polina Marinova chronicled the downfall of Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, once a giant-maker of Silicon Valley internet startups.
- The report details how the firm missed early investments in Facebook, Slack, and Robinhood, and was distracted with unprofitable bets on clean energy.
- Fortune also reported that longtime firm leader John Doerr, 67, overlooked star growth fund leader Mary Meeker when considering his replacement, instead opting for Mamoon Hamid from Social Capital.
- Meeker left Kleiner Perkins in September 2018 to start her own growth firm, Bond.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers was once the gold-standard of Silicon Valley venture capital firms. But its star has faded in recent years, and last year it was cleaved in half when one of its superstar partners left to start her own firm.
How Kleiner Perkins ended up in its current situation is the subject of a lengthy Fortune magazine feature Storey by Polina Marinova, that's worth a read.
Marinova recounts how a combination of unclear leadership and poor investment decisions led the once-prominent Silicon Valley institution to "B-list" status among entrepreneurs. Kleiner Perkins famously missed out on investments in internet services Facebook, Slack and Robinhood, among others, in favor of going all in on clean energy at the direction of firm leader John Doerr.
When many of these clean energy bets proved unprofitable or went wholly bankrupt Kleiner Perkins brought on acclaimed analyst Mary Meeker to lead a growth fund and get in on the investments they had missed, Fortune reports. Meeker took on late-stage investments in Slack, Robinhood, and other high-growth startups the firm had passed on earlier, according to the report.
Meeker's fund was a rousing success in terms of revamping the firm's reputation and in turning a profit, according to the report. But as Doerr was looking for his potential successor to lead the firm, he decided to go with Mamoon Hamid from the Social Capital firm, the Fortune report says.
Meeker and Hamid reportedly butted heads on leadership and team staffing issues, including how to best distribute the capital Meeker's growth fund was generating.
Ultimately, Meeker left Kleiner Perkins in September 2018 to start her own growth firm, Bond, but remains on good terms with Doerr who is still Kleiner Perkins' chairman, Fortune reported. Hamid remains at the helm of Kleiner Perkins in his day-to-day capacity as General Partner and Managing Director.