Heidi

HEIDI ROIZEN

- Venture capitalist at Softbank Venture Capital.

-co-founder of T/Maker a software developer company with her brother. Also CEO of T/Maker for a decade

- mastered the skill of blending professional networking with social networking.

-well known throughout Silicon Valley for hosting dinner parties at her house.

-high-energy person by nature, Roizen had a genuine passion for meeting smart, interesting people and helping them connect with other people she knew.

- was invited in 1999 to join Softbank as one of the five investing partners for its newly raised $636 million fund focused on internet companies.

BACKGROUND

-Attended Stanford University and majored in CREATIVE WRITING

- Started at Tandem computers as editor of the company newsletter- allowed her to use her writing skills while simultaneously learning about technology.

- impressed the CEO of Tandem computers with her hardwork. In return when she decided to attend Stanford’s school of business, the CEO wrote a recommendation letter for her.

- started working with her brother after graduating from Stanford at his company T/Maker(Tablemaker- spreadsheet software).

“Heidi is a pro at turning a brief conversation into one of the substance, by contributing one or two unique ideas in a short period of time”. --- Royal Farros(a classmate at Stanford school of business).

- Was elected as president of SPA (Software publishers Association) which gave her significant industry exposure.

“it is easier to get to know people when they are not famous; then when they do become famous, you already have a relationship with them.”- Heidi

- In 1986, Roizen and Farros agreed to buy out her brother’s ownership stake for $500,000.

- After growing T/Maker to $15 million in sales and employees, Roizen and Farros decided to sell the company in 1994.

- Roizen stayed on as CEO of the T/Maker subsidiary until 1996.