From there he made another pivot into venture capital, and he’s been at Sierra Ventures now in their 38th year. Tim eventually sold the company for $3.2B. That career journey gave him the confidence and knowledge of what worked and what didn’t of which he took with him when he started Octane in 1996. Given that Tim had built functional skills in other areas while at Scopus, including product management and marketing, he was able to get a big-picture view of how the whole organization ran. He decided that he wanted to be CEO of his own company. Tim achieved entrepreneurial success with Scopus, as they eventually went public and were acquired by Siebel Systems for $800M.īut Tim had higher aspirations still. But he also loved customer conversations, triggering a pivot into sales engineering and then sales, which he excelled at. He joined Scopus as employee number six, starting out as an engineer. That serendipitous action set his entrepreneurial career in motion. Tim responded to an ad for an engineer in San Jose’s The Mercury News. However, as someone who was (and still is) naturally curious, it wasn’t surprising when the entrepreneurial bug eventually hit him. He was so good at selling, in fact, that he made Quota Club, a group of top achieving salespeople.Īfter graduating from school, Tim got a job at a semiconductor company, which was more in line with his academic background. However, that experience was transformative for Tim he learned a core skill that has been fundamental to his career success ever since, but wasn't something that formal education ever taught him or exposed him to: sales. and he had to do so in 107 degree weather with a 40 pound bag on his back. That led him to finding a summer job in California going door-to-door selling books that were half biblical content, half math and science.
However, when his scholarship got cancelled, he had to find a way to support himself so that he could finish his degree - and fast. to get a Masters in Industrial engineering and robotics, and was excited to explore the opportunities that the states could offer. And these lessons he learned in his youth have been a critical part to his approach to life and business. In fact, he did theater, played soccer, and even entered a singing contest he wasn’t singularly threaded towards academics.
Tim grew up in India, where his home environment fostered exploration, instilled a work hard ethos, and encouraged him not to fear failure. What it takes to be a great entrepreneur, break through the noise, and create a sustainable business during a global crisisĭeveloping a Growth Mindset: Always Be Curious, Don’t Fear Failure, and Learn Constantly Traits of elite entrepreneurs and how they have evolved over the years How perspiration and inspiration got him to where he is today In fact, it was his curiosity and desire to ‘Alway be Trying’ that led him down the path of expanding his skill sets, experiences, and, ultimately, his career.
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Over his 18-year career in venture capital, as well as being a former serial entrepreneur himself, he has developed an inherent understanding of those critical traits aspiring and current entrepreneurs need to possess to build businesses that thrive.īut he didn’t set out to be an entrepreneur. As a Managing Partner at Sierra Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture firm investing globally with a focus on Next Generation Enterprise and Emerging Technologies, he knows all too well the journey and evolution of successful entrepreneurs. That’s certainly not surprising for Tim Guleri, who has been knee deep in the startup world for much of his career. We are still in the midst of the pandemic, but these trying times have also led to an increase in entrepreneurial activity and opportunities.Īccording to a Wall Street Journal analysis, “Americans are starting new businesses at the fastest rate in more than a decade.” The Foundation for Economic Education even cites that the pandemic offers a moment ripe for ‘creative destruction.’
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