09 Jul July 9, 2025 – Former Kleiner Perkins VC Dave Whorton and Reclaim Sobriety Ken Cox
Dave Whorton – Founder of Tugboat Institute, Former Kleiner Perkins VC and Author of
You had to build a good business. You had to grow from your own
profitability. You’d have a bank as a partner, but you didn’t want to
borrow too much money because you didn’t want to get yourself in
a position where you might lose the business in a downturn.
Dave Whorton
Dave Whorton is an experienced tech investor and founder who spent twenty years of his career at the highest levels of Silicon Valley venture capital and tech startups. At the preeminent tech venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, he worked directly with chairman John Doerr for several years. He cofounded four companies, including Good Technology. In 2013 he founded the Tugboat Institute to connect, support, and inspire purpose-driven leaders of Evergreen businesses—those built to adapt and grow profitably for one hundred years and more. He considers Evergreen company leaders and their businesses to represent capitalism at its best. Dave is passionate about purpose-driven companies that prioritize long-term shared success and people-first values and practices. At sixteen, Dave began his first job at Hewlett-Packard, working alongside manufacturing line workers at three divisions over four summers. It wasn’t until later in his career that he would come to realize the profound influence of HP’s founders and their “HP Way,” which sparked his dedication to serving businesses like early HP. Early in his career he founded four companies including Good Technology and Drugstore.com and worked for stints at top venture capital and private equity firms, KPCB, TPG, and Interwest. During this time, he witnessed the VC industry pivot from a proven forty-year playbook of managing risk with staged, reasonable financing to something much more aggressive: Get-big-fast, which later evolved into growth-at-all-costs. The lack of any profit discipline and manic pressure to grow didn’t feel right to him after being on the other side of it with Good, but he didn’t perceive an alternative… yet, that is. A pivotal conversation opened his eyes to a different kind of founder – seasoned entrepreneurs who were building profitable, innovative, people-first businesses that were designed to last beyond their lifetimes as independent, thriving businesses with no plans for an exit or IPO. Dave set off on a journey of interviewing a number of these entrepreneurs, and later included non-founder CEOs —eventually over 300. He found that these companies were often underappreciated and underserved. In 2013, Dave founded the Tugboat Institute to support and connect these leaders, coining the term “Evergreen companies” to describe these businesses. Since that time, members and friends have urged Dave to write a book about discovering an important alternative to Silicon Valley’s model—namely, Evergreen companies. After five years working with his co-author Bo Burlingham, Dave captured his learning journey and the key principles of Evergreen companies in his book, Another Way: Building Companies That Last…and Last…and Last. Dave’s hope is that Another Way greatly increases awareness of Evergreen companies and their incredible importance to our communities and society—and inspires new founders to build their own Evergreen companies that endure for generations. Dave has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford. Dave enjoys spending time between innovative Silicon Valley and mindful Sun Valley, Idaho.
Ken Cox – Co-Founder of Hostirian.com, Colocation and Web Hosting, Founder of InLink.com and Author of
Don’t go into AI today thinking, ‘Oh, I’m going to replace all these people.’
Go into AI today saying, ‘Where are my gaps? What things am I missing?
And can I utilize AI to fill those gaps?
Ken Cox
Ken Cox is an entrepreneur, author, and lifelong advocate for resilience. As the President of Rivercity Internet Group LLC and the Owner of BOX STL, Ken has spent decades helping businesses and individuals push beyond their perceived limits. His mission has always been about providing the infrastructure—both technical and personal—to empower others to grow. But Ken’s journey hasn’t always been smooth. He knows firsthand the struggles of addiction and the battle to reclaim one’s life. His personal experiences with sobriety have not only shaped his life but inspired his latest work, Reclaim Sobriety: 12 Rounds to Sobriety, where he shares his hard-earned lessons to help others navigate their own battles with substance abuse. The book recently hit #1 New Release in Teen & Young Adult Nonfiction on Substance Abuse, reaching a new audience that Ken is especially passionate about supporting. Ken is also the host of the Clicks and Bricks podcast, where he connects with entrepreneurs and thought leaders to explore the challenges and victories that come with building businesses and making an impact. He is deeply committed to fostering community and believes in the transformative power of sharing our stories. When he’s not building businesses or writing, you can find Ken coaching at BOX STL, where he helps young fighters learn the discipline, focus, and resilience that the sport of boxing provides. He firmly believes that boxing saved his life, and through it, he finds immense joy in mentoring the next generation. Ken is a proud father of two, and his passion for helping others extends to his family. He speaks openly about his experiences as the father of a neurodivergent son, an experience that has led him to embrace a life filled with patience, empathy, and gratitude. Above all, Ken Cox is someone who believes that our greatest strength lies in our willingness to face our struggles head-on, to keep imagining and believing in the possibility of a better future, and to help others do the same. His work—in business, in writing, and in coaching—is dedicated to empowering individuals to reclaim their lives and realize their potential.