In the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that my passion for the Evergreen model does not derive from some magical experience with a wonderful Evergreen startup, but rather from a lifetime engaged in the polar opposite model of financing and building companies. In fact, it might be difficult to find a person with a less Evergreen past. I joined my first venture-backed startup company straight out of college in 1987, founded one myself in 2002, and spent the bulk of my career in between working on early stage startups with a small group of VC’s in Silicon Valley. Even the few large companies I worked for long ago (Apple & Sun), were built to grow and IPO fast. But alas, I have become a convert. A convert to the other side of green.

I firmly believe that the Evergreen model is best suited for those that actually enjoyed and thrived in the “traditional” model (the venture path). I loved working in the traditional model. My own experiences have seen that model make hundreds of friends and colleagues wealthy beyond dreams and return billions of dollars to the wealthy people that were “kind enough to give us their money for a while.” I genuinely admire the VC’s I have worked closest with and yet I still think the Evergreen model is the best path forward for me.