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Peter Thiel: From Frankfurt to the World of Global Markets

• faramarz 16y ago
  This was a great read.. "At one point, PayPal had enough funding to survive only another two months while still losing around $10 Million a month. Shortly after, because of what was then the dot-com zenith, Thiel tried to raise money for PayPal, then valued at around $500 Million by VC’s even though losing money at a rapid rate. Nasdaq had just broken its own record, hitting 5,048, and the majority of investors thought the dot-com phenomenon would last forever. Peter, however, privately disagreed, believing that the dot-com era was going to crash spectacularly very soon. He already realized what the market came to know shortly thereafter: There was very little substance to the majority of dot-com “superstars.” Nonetheless, he capitalized on the opportunity presented to him, raising $100 Million to fund these hard times for PayPal, closing this large deal in only three weeks. The closing was March 31, 2000. This was critical as the very next day, the Nasdaq began its famous freefall, crumbling by 67% in less than 18 months! Had he not worked feverishly to locate an interested VC and jumped through numerous obstacles to close the deal so quickly, PayPal would most certainly not exist today."