Question 1

True or false: John Doerr wrote the bestselling book 'Measure What Matters' about OKRs.

Accepted Answer

True. Doerr popularized OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) in his 2018 book, crediting Andy Grove at Intel for the framework.

Question 2

True or false: Doerr invested in Google during its Series A round, writing a $12.5 million check.

Accepted Answer

True. In 1999, Kleiner Perkins led Google's first major VC round; Doerr secured a board seat and helped shape its early strategy.

Question 3

True or false: John Doerr coined the term 'Web 2.0' during a 2004 conference.

Accepted Answer

False. Tim O'Reilly popularized 'Web 2.0' in 2004. Doerr was an early advocate but did not coin the term.

Question 4

True or false: Doerr's first billion-dollar return came from his investment in Netscape.

Accepted Answer

True. Kleiner Perkins invested $5 million in Netscape in 1995; its IPO made the firm over $500 million, Doerr's first huge home run.

Question 5

True or false: John Doerr's first major career was as a software engineer at Microsoft.

Accepted Answer

False. Doerr started as a hardware engineer at Intel, not Microsoft. He later earned an MBA from Harvard before moving into venture capital.

Question 6

True or false: Doerr personally invested in Amazon during its 1997 IPO.

Accepted Answer

False. While Kleiner Perkins invested in Amazon later, Doerr's signature early bets were on Netscape, Google, and Sun Microsystems, not Amazon's IPO.

Question 7

True or false: John Doerr was a co-founder of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Accepted Answer

False. Doerr joined Kleiner Perkins in 1980 as an employee, not a founder; the firm was founded by Eugene Kleiner, Tom Perkins, and others.

Question 8

True or false: Doerr served as a senior advisor to President Barack Obama on climate change.

Accepted Answer

True. He was a member of Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board and pushed for clean energy investments via his book 'Speed & Scale'.

John Doerr Trivia Questions