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The Secret History of Silicon Valley 12: The Rise of “Risk Capital.

Steve Blank

These IPOs meant that technology companies didn’t have to get acquired to raise money or get their founders and investors liquid. The Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Act in 1958 guaranteed that for every dollar a bank or financial institution invested in a new company, the U.S. government would invest three (up to $300,000.)

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The Secret History of Silicon Valley Part IX: Entrepreneurship in.

Steve Blank

Again Stanford technology would solve these challenges. Frustrated with Kern’s lack of interest in investing in more technology companies, Tommy Davis would go on to found one of Silicon Valley’s first VC firms with Arthur Rock, creating Davis and Rock, founded in 1961. This was a two-pronged challenge: the U.S.