David Cowan (venture capitalist)

David Cowan
David Cowan 2022
Occupation(s)Venture Capitalist, Entrepreneur

David Cowan is a prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist, filmmaker, philanthropist, and company founder. He is in the Forbes Midas List Hall of Fame and has appeared on the Midas List 14 times since 2001.[1][2] He co-founded three companies, including Verisign. He has invested in more than 29 companies that have gone on to IPO.[1] He is also noted for his support of scientific skepticism and of the work of Richard Dawkins and as of 2022 a board member of Center for Inquiry.

Early life and education

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Cowan was raised in New Rochelle, New York.[3] He earned his undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Harvard University in 1988.[1] He received his MBA from Harvard in 1992.[1]

Career

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Venture capital and entrepreneurship

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Cowan joined Bessemer Venture Partners in 1992. His notable investments there include LinkedIn, Qualys, Twitch, Twilio, Rocket Lab, Skybox Imaging, Blue Nile, Verisign, Ciena, LifeLock, Auth0,[4] Zapier,[5] Rigetti, and Spire Global. Of his investments, 29 have gone on to IPO.[1] Bessemer was Twilio’s largest shareholder at the time of its 2016 IPO,[6] a stake worth over $500 million.[1]

In 1995, Cowan co-founded network infrastructure company Verisign and served as its initial chairman.[7] The company went public in 1998 and is currently traded on NASDAQ.[8]

In 1996, Cowan co-founded mobile email software platform Visto, serving as its initial CEO. Visto later purchased Good Technology and the merged company was acquired by Blackberry in 2015.[9]

In 2012, Cowan co-founded DDOS prevention firm Defense.Net.[10][11] It was acquired by F5 Networks in 2014.[12]

He served on the Board of Auth0, which was acquired by Okta for $6.5 billion; Bessemer owned greater than 20% of the company at that time,[13] generating over $1.2 billion in gains for the firm.[14]

Other professional activities

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Cowan is the host of the Wish I Knew podcast, winner of the 2024 Webby Award for Best Business Podcast.[15] The show aims to share the life-changing moments that founders, CEOs and leaders discovered along their business journeys and why taking risks leads to growth.[16]

In 2006, Cowan published a blog post questioning claims made regarding the dietary supplement Airborne, which he alleged was improperly marketed as a cold remedy.[17] Cowan’s blog post became the primary source for a Scientific American article,[18] which in turn led to a lawsuit against Airborne that caused significant marketing changes and a $23.5 million fine by the Federal Trade Commission.[19][20]

Cowan holds several United States patents, including patents regarding consumer behavior (assigned to Groupon following the acquisition of MashLogic)[21] and network security.[22]

Professional awards and recognition

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  • Forbes Midas List Hall of Fame[23]
  • Forbes Midas List: Appeared 14 years between 2001 and 2018[24][2]
  • Forbes Midas List 2001 (inaugural list): #6 (tied)[25]

Creative Works

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Cowan wrote and directed the musical “Lies in the Attic,” which was performed by a capella group Voices in Harmony four times in San Jose alongside other cast members.[26] He co-wrote and starred in the Silicon Valley mockumentary “Bubbleproof,” which was produced by the Femtofilm project in 2017.[27][28] Cowan was Executive Producer of the David Greenwald-directed documentary The Blech Effect, released in 2020.[29]

Cowan was also the Producer of Afghan Dreamers, a documentary about five girls in Afghanistan who were part of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team, an internationally competitive robotics team.[30][31] Afghan Dreamers won the Best Human Rights Film Award at Galway Film Fleadh,[32] Best Documentary Audience Award at Valladolid,[33][34] Best Inspirational Storytelling at Savannah Film Fest,[35] and Honorable Mention for Best Documentary Feature at the 2022 Woodstock Film Festival.[36] In 2022, it joined the MTV Documentary Films slate licensed by Paramount/Viacom.[37] In 2023, it was announced that it would exclusively premiere on May 23 on Paramount+.[38]

Philanthropy

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Cowan founded the Afghan Rescue Fund, an organization that works to assist and relocate Afghan families and individuals imperiled by the upheaval in Afghanistan and the Taliban regime. Cowan himself has coordinated the rescue of hundreds of endangered Afghans to date.[39]

Cowan previously served as a Trustee of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science before it merged with the Center for Inquiry.[40] He serves as a board member of the merged organization.[41] He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian as of 2022.[42]

Personal life

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Cowan is the brother of former New York Times reporter Alison Leigh Cowan.[43] He identifies as atheist.[44]

See also

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  • Bessemer Venture Partners

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "David Cowan". Forbes.
  2. ^ a b "The Space Companies Getting A Boost From Midas List Members". Forbes.
  3. ^ "YU Wall Street Group Hosts Community Events".
  4. ^ "Auth0 Raises $2.4M to Help Developers Plug into Identity Platforms Like Facebook".
  5. ^ "Zapier Raises $1.2M Seed Round from Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson & Others".
  6. ^ "FORM S-1: Twilio Inc".
  7. ^ Shah, Tarang; Shah, Shital (24 January 2012). Venture Capitalists at Work: How VCs Identify and Build Billion-Dollar Successes. Apress. ISBN 9781430238386. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  8. ^ "VeriSign IPO well-received". CNET. 30 January 1998.
  9. ^ "BlackBerry to acquire Good Technology for $425 million". CrackBerry.com. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  10. ^ "David Cowan". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  11. ^ "Cyber Security Expert Barrett Lyon Brings Defense.net Out Of Stealth To Battle A New Wave Of DDoS Attacks – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com.
  12. ^ Team, Trefis. "F5 Expands Its Security Portolio With Defense.Net". Forbes. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  13. ^ Chernova, Yuliya (2021-03-05). "Auth0 Backers Projected to See Blockbuster Return From $6.5 Billion Sale to Okta". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  14. ^ Chernova, Yuliya (2021-03-05). "Auth0 Backers Projected to See Blockbuster Return From $6.5 Billion Sale to Okta". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  15. ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  16. ^ "Wish I Knew Podcast | Discover Top Rated Epsiodes". www.thepodup.com. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  17. ^ Cowan, David (19 April 2006). "Who Has Time For This?: CREATED BY A SCHOOL TEACHER!!!!!". Who Has Time For This?. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  18. ^ Shermer, Michael (2007). "Airborne Baloney". Scientific American. 296 (1): 32. Bibcode:2007SciAm.296a..32S. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0107-32. PMID 17186829. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  19. ^ Shermer, Michael (12 January 2016). Skeptic: Viewing the World with a Rational Eye. Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 9781627791397.
  20. ^ "Makers of Airborne Settle FTC Charges of Deceptive Advertising; Agreement Brings Total Settlement Funds to $30 Million". Federal Trade Commission. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  21. ^ US 9489352, "System and method for providing content to users based on interactions by similar other users" 
  22. ^ US 7039679B2, "System and method for globally and securely accessing unified information in a computer network" 
  23. ^ Upbin, Bruce. "Who's Been On The Midas List More Than Anyone?". Forbes. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  24. ^ Upbin, Bruce. "Who's Been On The Midas List More Than Anyone?". Forbes.
  25. ^ "Midas List". Forbes. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  26. ^ "Beatles and barbershop blend in 'Lies in the Attic' musical". The Mercury News. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  27. ^ "David Cowan". IMDb. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  28. ^ "Silicon Valley mockumentary 'Bubbleproof'". Bubbleproof.TV. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  29. ^ "The Blech Effect - Cast | IMDbPro". pro.imdb.com. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  30. ^ Ravindran, Manori (2021-08-25). "'Afghan Dreamers' Film, on Female Robotics Team, Underway as Producer Describes 'White-Knuckle Panic' Around Evacuation (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  31. ^ Ide2022-07-07T18:15:00+01:00, Wendy. "'Afghan Dreamers': Galway Review". Screen. Retrieved 2022-12-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ ciaraod (2022-07-11). "2022 Award Winners Announced". Galway Film Fleadh. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  33. ^ Carey, Matthew (2023-05-09). "Paramount+ To Debut 'Afghan Dreamers' May 23, "Harrowing Story" Of All-Girls Robotics Team Menaced By Taliban Rule". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  34. ^ "Review: Afghan Dreamers / It's Just Movies". itsjustmovies.com. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  35. ^ "Film showcases and specialty series". SCAD Savannah Film Festival. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  36. ^ "Award Winners from the 23rd Annual Woodstock Film Festival". Woodstock Film Festival. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  37. ^ "MTV Documentary Films Unveils Full Slate and Trailer for Ondi Timoner's 'Last Flight Home' (EXCLUSIVE)". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  38. ^ Major, Michael. "Paramount+ to Exclusively Debut MTV's AFGHAN DREAMERS Documentary Film". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  39. ^ kreidler, Marc (2022-04-19). "Afghan Rescue Fund | Secular Rescue". Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  40. ^ kreidler, Marc (2016-12-31). "Two Great Freethought Organizations Are Now One | Center for Inquiry". Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  41. ^ kreidler, Marc (2018-04-12). "Board | Center for Inquiry". Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  42. ^ "Advisory Board | www.cfa.harvard.edu/". 2019-11-07. Archived from the original on 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  43. ^ "Alison Leigh Cowan". The School of The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  44. ^ "Board and Staff: Richard Dawkins Foundation". www.richarddawkins.net. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
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