When it comes to navigating the difficult waters of Silicon Valley, it is important to know who the big movers and shakers in the industry are. These are some of the top people that have shaped the Silicon Valley that the world knows today. These are also the most important individuals that anyone looking to make their way in this market should know.
1. John Rampton
Serial entrepreneur John Rampton was recently named as #4 on the list of Top 50 Online Influencers in the World by Entrepreneur Magazine. He was also awarded as being one of the Top 10 Most Influential PPC Experts in the world for the past three years. Around Silicon Valley he is known for being one of the most successful advisors for startups in the area. He is also the co-founder of Due.com.
2. Murray Newlands
Also a co-founder of Due.com, Murray Newlands is a startup and venture capital advisor and serial entrepreneur. He is a Venture Advisor to the Nothingsfund and is a frequent contributor to Forbes and Entrepreneur among others. Murray is perhaps best-known as the author of Online Marketing: A User's Manual published by John Wiley & Sons.
3. Robert Scoble
Many people know Robert Scoble for his blog Scobleizer, which he wrote when he was working with Microsoft. Today, Scoble working for Rackspace and their sponsored community site Building 43, which focuses on highlighting and promoting cutting-edge startups and breakthrough technology. If you want to be featured in Silicon Valley, he is the individual to turn to. After all, his influence in the area is long-standing as Scoble grew up in Silicon Valley, just blocks away from Apple's head office.
4. Brian Solis
Digital marketing analyst Brian Solis, focuses on the effects of technology in business and is a self-proclaimed futurist. He is also an award-winning author and keynote speaker. In both Silicon Valley and around the country, Solis is known as being one of the most innovative leaders in the worlds of innovation and digital transformation.
5. Ben Parr
In addition to being a venture capitalists and entrepreneur, Ben Parr is also an established American Journalist with a great deal of influence in the media. He was the co-editor of Mashable and a columnist and commentator for CNET. He was once famed to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and today he is the co-founder and Managing Partner of DominateFund, a seed-stage venture capital firm.
6. Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel is the co-founder of PayPal and one of the first outside investors in Facebook. He also has a reported net worth of over $2 billion and is a serial investor in Silicon Valley. When it comes to Silicon Valley royalty, there are very few that can compete with the reputation or the success of Thiel.
7. Joe Lonsdale
Joe Lonsdale is one of the founding partners at Formation 8 Partners, a tech investment fund in Silicon Valley. He has also worked closely with Peter Thiel at PayPal. His real influence has come from his work as an angel investor and venture capitalist in Silicon Valley where he has helped countless entrepreneurs build smarter companies and has worked with companies such as Addepar, Bagedville, Practice Fusion and Blueprint Labs. He also worked on a project with Lady Gaga to launch Backplane.
8. Paul Doersch
In addition to being named as one of Forbes Top 30 Under 30 in 2015, Paul Doersch is also the founder of Kespry, an emerging Silicon Valley brand that designs and builds commercial-grade drone systems. When it comes to finding an expert in financing, Paul Doersch is the person to turn to. The CEO raised $10 million in Series A financing for his brand shortly after developing his drone company.
9. Ronny Conway Jr.
Ronny Conway is not only the son of SV Angel co-founder Ron Conway, one of the original names in the world of Silicon Valley, but he also has his own reputation in the world of seed investing. In addition to being the former Head of Early Stage Investing for Andreessen Horowitz, Conway is also the founder and General Partner of A Capital, an emerging early stage venture capital firm that focuses on consumer and enterprise technology.
10. Salil Pradhan
Sail Pradhan spent 10 years at Hewlett Packard before he became an early stage investor with Draper Nexus Ventures. Salil is also a founder of two startups and has been issued 54 different US patents. He also is an advisor to corporate LPs on product strategy, partnerships with startups and M&A. He is focused on helping seed and early stage startups in retail, healthcare and agriculture with an emphasis on IoT, making him a valuable person to know if you are looking to develop this type of brand in Silicon Valley.