Andreessen Horowitz
SAP's Lars Dalgaard joins Andreessen Horowitz
May 30, 2013: 2:16 PM ETSAP star will join venture firm.
FORTUNE -- Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has a new general partner: former SuccessFactors CEO and SAP executive board member Lars Dalgaard.
Just last week, Dalgaard announced he was stepping down from SAP (SAP) to become an investor. The departure came about a year and a half after he sold SuccessFactors, a maker of cloud-based HR software, to the larger enterprise software maker for a cool $3.4 billion. SAP said Dalgaard will stay onboard as an advisor to its cloud business, working one day a week. The rest of the time Dalgaard will focus on his new responsibilities at Andreessen Horowitz. It's not clear exactly when his start date will be, but Dalgaard says he has already sat in on multiple meetings at Andreessen Horowitz.
"I don't want to be a manager anymore," Dalgaard told Fortune after stepping down from his role at SAP last week. "I have the opportunity to be the best investor ever. I really understand how companies run."
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After the sale to SuccessFactors to SAP in 2011, some speculated that Dalgaard had his eye on the CEO job at the German software giant. If that ever was the case, obviously things went a much different way, though Dalgaard (and SAP's co-CEOs) say the departure was on good terms.
Dalgaard says he was attracted to Andreessen Horowitz because the firm treats entrepreneurs well. The firm's co-founder, Ben Horowitz, said they were looking to add another general partner with a background in enterprise software. "We want people who have been through the process of building a company and have done it in a way that people who were part of that process would do it again a thousand times," says Horowitz. "For us it's the most important thing."
Horowitz made the announcement on his blog Thursday morning, writing: "Building a company isn't about business models and inflection points; it's about doing something larger than yourself. It's about working for each other. It's about being part of a team trying to make possible the impossible. It's about doing it in a way that no matter what the outcome, everyone was glad they were there."
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Transcript: The keys to Andreessen Horowitz's success
Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz talk to Fortune's Adam Lashinsky about their investing philosophies, role models and business model.
FORTUNE -- When partners at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz are late to a meeting with entrepreneurs, they pay for it – literally. That's one of the rules established by co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, former entrepreneurs themselves, who started the firm in 2009. Partners are fined $10 for every MORE
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JP Mangalindan, Writer - Nov 20, 2012 6:30 AM ET -
Today in Tech: How the Apple-Samsung trial could affect tech forever
Apple is now the most valuable company of all time; the future of Ethernet.
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JP Mangalindan, Writer - Aug 21, 2012 5:00 AM ET -
Airbnb: More than a place to crash
The web startup has thrived by making it easy to list and find rooms to rent. But CEO Brian Chesky thinks the site can be an eBay for the social age.
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Nicira wants to reinvent routing
Inspired by a government gig, founder Martin Casado is trying to make it a lot easier for computers around the world to communicate.
By Richard Nieva, contributor
FORTUNE -- Silicon Valley is full of tight-lipped executives who fear divulging their companies' technological secrets. Then there's Martin Casado, co-founder of networking startup Nicira, who won't even disclose where he used to work.
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Today in Tech: 5 mistakes tablet makers make at launch
Fortune's curated selection of tech stories from the last 24 hours. Sign up to get the round-up delivered to you each and every day.
* As All Things D first reported, expect Yahoo (YHOO) to lay off thousands of employees tomorrow, largely from from the company's international division. (All Things D via PandoDaily)
* Oracle (ORCL) and Google (GOOG) are going to trial in two weeks. The former is suing the latter over Java-related patents and technology that appear in Google's popular MORE
JP Mangalindan, Writer - Apr 3, 2012 12:06 PM ETPosted in: Andreessen Horowitz, Android, Google, google wallet, Oracle Corporation, Paul Sciarra, Pinterest, Square -
Is Pinterest the next Facebook?
An exclusive look inside CEO Ben Silbermann's social media sensation.
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Jessi Hempel, writer - Mar 22, 2012 5:00 AM ET
