Disney boss shows art of patience in investing.
John Ball founded Steamboat Ventures in 2000 after initially working at pioneering venture capital firm Burr Egan Deleage in the 1980s. He later moved on to head corporate development and mergers and acquisitions at US-listed media group Disney, after working for four years as director of mergers and acquisitions at civil engineering company URS Corporation, formerly Dames & Moore.
With Steamboat being set up as Disney’s corporate venturing affiliate in 2000 at the tail of the technology, media and telecoms bubble, Ball resisted making an investment for 18 months until prices had rationalised and a new wave of promising new media companies was beginning to emerge.
Ball added in a profile of Steamboat by Global Corporate Venturing: “We are highly selective and only do deals that meet both strategic (to Disney) and financial objectives.
“Steamboat facilitates interaction between its portfolio companies and the different business units at Disney. Two-thirds of our investments have gone on to develop a commercial relationship with one or more of Disney’s businesses, which exceeds our initial expectations.”
Under his leadership the corporate venturing unit has shifted focus from the US to Asia in the past year, and is looking to have outside investors besides Disney in its next fund.
But Ball, a Tufts and Harvard Business School alumnus, remains a board member of US-based sports camera company GoPro even after shifting Steamboat’s investment team and himself from California to Hong Kong.
Lessons from the top: Ball told Global Corporate Venturing in a profile: “Structure is critical to how venture capital funds build and sustain successful partnerships over long periods of time that support entrepreneurial innovation.”
