David Sacks: From PayPal to Podcast Power Broker

Early Life and Education

Born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1972, Sacks immigrated to the United States as a child. He attended Stanford University, where he earned a BA in Economics (1994) and later a JD from Stanford Law School (1998).

At Stanford, Sacks became friends with Peter Thiel, editing the conservative student newspaperThe Stanford Review together. This partnership would later prove pivotal in his career trajectory.

Before fully entering tech, Sacks co-authored the controversial book "The Diversity Myth" (1995) with Peter Thiel, critiquing multiculturalism in higher education. The book remains divisive and is rarely discussed by Sacks today.

PayPal: The Foundation

Joining PayPal (1999)

In 1999, Peter Thiel recruited Sacks to join Confinity (which later became PayPal) as Chief Operating Officer. Sacks was responsible for building the product and operations infrastructure that would scale PayPal from a startup to a payments giant.

Key contributions at PayPal:

• Product leadership - Oversaw development of core payment features
• Anti-fraud systems - Built fraud detection that saved millions
• Operations scaling - Managed explosive user growth (10M+ users by 2001)
• IPO preparation - Helped prepare company for public markets

eBay Acquisition (2002)

eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion in 2002. As COO, Sacks received a substantial payout that provided the capital for his next ventures. More importantly, he became part of the "PayPal Mafia" — the group of former PayPal executives who went on to found or fund companies like LinkedIn, YouTube, Tesla, SpaceX, Palantir, and Yelp.

Yammer: Enterprise Social Networking

Founding Yammer (2008)

After PayPal, Sacks tried several ventures (including Geni.com, a family networking site) before hitting his stride with Yammer in 2008. Yammer was an enterprise social network designed to improve internal communication at companies.

The pitch: "Facebook for the enterprise" — but secure, compliant, and IT-approved.

Explosive Growth

Yammer's freemium model drove viral adoption:

• Free for individuals to join their company network
• Paid upgrades for enterprise features (admin controls, integrations, analytics)
• Network effects: value increased as more employees joined
• 85% of Fortune 500 companies used Yammer by 2012

Microsoft Acquisition (2012)

Microsoft acquired Yammer for $1.2 billion in 2012, one of the largest acquisitions in enterprise social software history. Sacks stayed on to integrate Yammer into Microsoft's Office 365 suite.

While Yammer eventually lost ground to Microsoft Teams and Slack, the acquisition validated enterprise social networking and made Sacks a proven founder-operator in the SaaS world.

Craft Ventures: Building a VC Powerhouse

Founding Craft Ventures (2017)

In 2017, Sacks founded Craft Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on enterprise software, SaaS, and marketplace businesses. The firm's strategy: back experienced founders building category-defining companies.

Fund size: Started with $350M Fund I, now manages over $2B+ across multiple funds.

Notable Investments

Investment Thesis

Craft Ventures focuses on:

• Enterprise SaaS - B2B software with recurring revenue
• Marketplaces - Network effects and winner-take-most dynamics
• Experienced founders - Second or third-time entrepreneurs
• Capital efficiency - Unit economics and profitability paths
• Vertical integration - Companies that own their full stack

All-In Podcast Co-Host

In 2020, Sacks became a co-host of the All-In Podcast alongside Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, and David Friedberg. The podcast quickly became one of the most influential voices in technology and policy.

Role and Perspective

Sacks is known on the podcast for:

• Libertarian worldview - Strong free market advocate, skeptical of regulation
• Contrarian takes - Willing to take unpopular positions on culture war issues
• Historical context - Brings historical analogies to current events
• First principles thinking - Breaks down complex issues to fundamentals
• Foreign policy focus - Vocal critic of interventionist policies

Memorable Moments

Political Views and Controversies

Sacks is arguably the most politically controversial of the All-In hosts, often taking positions that generate fierce debate:

Key Positions

• Anti-woke - Vocal critic of DEI initiatives and cancel culture
• Non-interventionist - Opposes U.S. military involvement abroad
• Free speech absolutist - Defends controversial speech, even when offensive
• Anti-regulation - Believes markets self-correct better than government
• Pro-tech innovation - Opposes AI regulation, crypto restrictions, etc.

Major Controversies

These positions have made Sacks a polarizing figure. Supporters praise his intellectual consistency and courage to challenge orthodoxy. Critics accuse him of using libertarian principles to defend right-wing politics.

Personal Life

• Family: Married to Jacqueline Tortorice; three children
• Location: San Francisco Bay Area (Atherton/Woodside)
• Hobbies: History reading, poker, wine collecting
• Political donations: Has donated to both Republican and Democratic candidates over the years
• Social media: Active on X/Twitter with 600K+ followers

Impact and Legacy

David Sacks has left his mark on technology and culture in multiple ways:

1. Enterprise software pioneer - Yammer validated freemium model for B2B SaaS
2. VC returns - Craft Ventures has generated strong returns for LPs
3. PayPal Mafia legacy - Part of the most successful entrepreneurial network in history
4. Media influence - The All-In Podcast shapes tech and policy narratives for millions
5. Political discourse - Brings libertarian/conservative voice to tech conversations