Bill Gurley
Early Venture Capitalist & Silicon Valley Investor; General Partner at Benchmark
Bill Gurley is a general partner at Benchmark, a leading venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. Over his venture career, he has invested in and served on the board of such companies as Nextdoor, OpenTable, Stitch Fix, Uber, and Zillow. Born in Dickinson, Texas, Gurley earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Florida and later received an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. In 2025, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Texas alumni association. For more than two decades, Gurley has written about technology and other subjects on his popular blog, Above the Crowd, and on his social media accounts.
Philosopher's Notes on Bill Gurley's Books
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Philosopher's Notes
Runnin’ Down a Dream
by Bill Gurley
Bill Gurley wrote Runnin’ Down a Dream for anyone who wants more than a paycheck and suspects work can be one of the most meaningful expressions of a life well lived. The core message is simple and powerful: life is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition, and eighty thousand hours is far too long to spend doing something you do not love. Gurley offers a practical playbook for stepping off the conveyor belt, chasing your curiosity, finding your obsessive interest, honing your craft, and having the courage to run down your dream, whether you are just starting out or changing direction midcareer. It is optimistic without being naive, grounded in real stories, and relentlessly focused on the parts of success we can actually control. Big Ideas we explore include The Conveyor Belt, Obsessive Interest, Hone Your Craft, It’s Never Too Late, and Use It or Lose It.
