The Knucklehead of Silicon Valley: Craig Vachon
Well the reviews are in. Santa Cruz local, Craig Vachon (Founder of Chowdahead Growth Fund) has a hit on his hands with his new book - The Knucklehead of Silicon Valley.
Early reviews:
"Smart and captivating... Filled with humor, suspense, whimsy, whit and moments of pure heart, this read is fascinating, educational, and a heck of a lot of fun.”--Jordy Berson, former Head/CEO, BitTorrent
"It's all too rare to find a fun, seat-of-your-pants, literary romp like this.... wonderful reading."
--Raz Zia, former MD at Goldman Sachs and MD at Aldrich Capital
"The Knucklehead is a great eye-opening read. Vachon weaves a story that is both impossible to believe and impossible to ignore -- It is ridiculously funny and frighteningly real. Be prepared to learn, to laugh and yes, to worry about what's happening behind the cyber world curtain."--Rick Roth - Former Global CEO, Ogilvy Action
About the book:
Ralph Gibsen isn’t your typical spy. In fact, he may not be a spy at all. He's lumpy, blundering and abysmal at chatting up the fairer sex. Yet, he is attracting a significant amount of attention from the intelligence community. After all, as a 30-year Silicon Valley mainstay, he can phish your passwords, bust firewalls, and has developed software used by millions to circumvent government censorship. And now, he thinks he has stumbled upon a cabal who is pushing to misuse his own technology for world domination.
Ralph helps create an educational Tool that maps a learner’s neurological processes and pinpoints the exact moment a student learns. But the Tool can also manipulate people’s beliefs. At least, that what several influential people think. Soon, Ralph finds himself the target of increasingly complex attacks on his businesses, reputation, freedom, and life.Ralph enlists an eclectic group of ‘frenemies’ to thwart this nefarious plot. McKenna may or may not still work for the CIA. Beautiful Eva may work for the Chinese government, who wants the Tool for themselves. Even Ralph’s lovely wife Jen could be involved... Ralph simply isn’t equipped to figure it out. And the world is closing in.
About G Craig Vachon
The character of Ralph Gibsen, the protagonist of The Knucklehead of Silicon Valley isn't based on the author G. Craig Vachon.
Not in any way.
Sure, they both are big, goofy-looking lummoxes, and they are married to beautiful, smart women that could have coupled more advantageously.
And yes, Ralph and Craig are both overly lucky, Silicon Valley-based venture capital investors living on the beaches near Santa Cruz, CA. And both spend too much time in business-class seats flying to strange places and meeting exotic people. But that's where the similarities end.
No, really.
Craig grew up in Massachusetts as the eldest son of immigrants. He graduated third-in-his-class (sadly, it was from the bottom of the ranks) from a very expensive prep school with a formal dress code. In rebellion, he hasn't worn socks since. As his GPA wasn't sufficient to enroll in a normal college, he enrolled in a community college in Western Colorado near a magnificent ski hill. (His mother may have had to sleep with the President of the school to ensure his matriculation). On the first day of school, upon seeing a very attractive woman signing up for the debate club, Craig did so likewise. Eventually, success on the debate team allowed Craig to transfer to Emerson College where he earned two degrees in Rhetoric. After graduation, he couldn't find a real job, so at the urging of his mother and his mentor, he started his own company. Two years later, he sold the marketing company and moved to Tokyo to work with the acquirer.
Over the next 30 years, Craig lived and worked as an entrepreneur in Japan (twice), China, Taiwan, India, Europe, and Canada. He's earned >7.3 million airline miles and typically spends >150 nights per year in a foreign hotel room. His small VC firm (Chowdahead - which is almost-nothing like Clam Pies' VC firm in the Knucklehead novel) invests in great founders of start-up companies who are trying to make the world a slightly better place.
Craig started writing when he first moved abroad and couldn't afford long-distance calling. He'd type his earliest missives onto a single page and fax his adventures to friends and family. Because his mother (and his mentor) were fax recipients, he wrote in the third-person using his childhood imaginary friend's name (Ralph - another amazing coincidence) as the protagonist of his missives. Inasmuch, Craig's mother Bubsy, couldn't get too anxious/upset when "Ralph" did something dumb/dangerous/risque.
Craig is already writing the sequel to the first Knucklehead novel.
Bio originally posted here