"Independently and immediately, a flood of people reached the same conclusion: This had to be a mistake. It was the summer of 2017, and as word spread that Mamoon Hamid was joining venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, some people wondered if it was a joke, or "fake news." And they didn't hold back. "I got calls from friends in the venture business, other GPs [general partners], asking: 'Are you sure this is happening? Is this real?'" Hamid recounts."
"Hamid had helped build one of Silicon Valley's buzziest new VC firms, Social Capital, leading a string of wins including investments in Box (one of 2015's biggest IPOs) and Slack (at the time valued at $5.1 billion). Kleiner Perkins on the other hand, was widely viewed as an institution in decline, a bit like the largest gold-plated ship of a 19th-century fleet-grand for where it had been, but not for where it was heading."
"The firm had been the inspiration that led him to a career in venture capital, and John Doerr, the legendary Kleiner rainmaker who made early bets on Google, Amazon, and Netscape, had been his role model. Meanwhile, Social Capital, the firm Hamid helped start in 2011, had its own issues. Chamath Palihapitiya, Hamid's cofounder, was reportedly growing disenchanted with the traditional venture investing model, leading to friction with limited partners (Social Capital has since become a"
In summer 2017 Mamoon Hamid's move to Kleiner Perkins surprised many in venture capital, prompting calls asking if the news was real. Hamid had co‑founded Social Capital and led notable investments including Box and Slack, while Kleiner was widely seen as an institution past its prime. Hamid viewed Kleiner as personally significant, inspired by its legacy and by John Doerr's career. Social Capital faced internal tensions as cofounder Chamath Palihapitiya grew disenchanted with traditional venture models, creating friction with limited partners and contributing to a changing firm dynamic.
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