With early investments in dozens of public technology companies including Google, Juniper Networks, Amazon.com and Sun Microsystems, Kleiner, Perkins Caufield and Byers has earned a place among the most savvy and successful venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. In this clip, Kleiner partner and former Oracle chief executive Ray Lane explains what the firm looks for when evaluating a deal, using the example of Xsigo Systems, a virtualization startup and Kleiner investment. Part of the reason Xsigo got funded was that Kleiner had confidence that the founding executive team could get their product to market first, Lane says, because Xsigo CEO Ashok Krishnamurthi and President Steven Haley had proven themselves at Juniper. Apart from a proven team, Kleiner also wants to see a company addressing a very big market. "Every time we invest, we expect it to be a billion-dollar outcome," Lane says. "We want to change the world every time we invest." Even though it doesn't always work out that way, the firm sets the bar high. Any entrepreneurs who want to pitch Kleiner should do the same.
