26. September 2024
Walter Kortschak, a billionaire venture capitalist, is convinced of his formula: “Investing means having patience and perseverance. I don’t know many people in our industry who have worked so long, consistently and successfully in early-stage, growth and private equity financing.”
The 65-year-old spoke to Forbes from Colorado. Kortschak owns homes in Aspen and London, as well as a nearly 3,000-acre property on Kauai, where Jurassic Park was filmed. He acquired most of his properties in Hawaii in 2003, near Mark Zuckerberg’s estate. His net worth today is estimated at approximately $1.6 billion, thanks to his career at growth finance firm Summit Partners and his subsequent successful early investments.
Kortschak was born in Canada to an Austrian father and an American mother and spent most of his childhood in Geneva. He initially wanted to become a software engineer and earned two degrees in the subject. After a year at a computer graphics start-up, he returned to UCLA in 1984, where he worked as a venture fellow. In 1986, he joined Crosspoint Venture Partners, an early-stage firm, before moving to Summit Partners in 1989 to focus on late-stage investments.
During his 20-year career at Summit, Kortschak earned an outstanding reputation and landed on Forbes’ Midas List from 2005 to 2009. His major successes include investments in companies such as McAfee, E-Tek Dynamics and Xylan, which achieved huge returns.
After retiring from active roles at Summit in 2010, when the firm was managing over $5 billion, Kortschak became a senior advisor and began investing in early-stage growth through his own companies. His successful investments include The Trade Desk, Lyft, Palantir and OpenAI.
In an interview with Forbes, Kortschak shares his insights on the current challenges and opportunities in the investment space. He warns of the risk of being driven by “fear of missing out” (FOMO) and recommends a disciplined approach to identifying real opportunities.
He cites his largest investment in Summit E-Tek Dynamics, which he acquired in 1997 for $120 million and which was ultimately sold to JDS Uniphase for $18.4 billion. His investment in The Trade Desk in 2012, which has now reached a market capitalization of almost US$50 billion, is also one of his greatest successes.
When asked about his biggest disappointments, he says that over-capitalization can be risky for young companies, especially if they want to expand in multiple directions.
Overall, Walter Kortschak’s career shows that long-term success in investing requires patience, discipline and the ability to keep track of things and make the right decisions.
Text: Phoebe Liu
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Colin + Meg
