"40 Under 40" Business Achievement Awards for 2003

Hans Knapp

Partner, Yaletown Venture Partners Inc.

Age: 33

There were early signs that Hans Knapp was not cut out to be a lawyer, but was more suited to the world of business.

During his early days in law school, Knapp worked hard, scored top marks, raked in scholarship cash and promptly invested it in early-stage technology companies.

"I actually did quite well," he now says.

Knapp practised law for a few years but couldn't deny his passion for growing early-stage companies.

The son of an immigrant logger, he said he's always been attracted to the challenge of making something out of nothing or, in the case of venture capitalists, helping keen entrepreneurs make a lucrative business out of an idea.

"The opportunities are huge," said Knapp, 33, who quit law after two years to join a boutique VC firm and then, in 2001, co-found local venture capital firm Yaletown Venture Partners Inc. "I can apply the legal stuff to the deal-making side of the venture industry."

His biggest challenge was sticking it out in the beginning. Two months after the group started its first fund, the September 11 terrorist attacks hit and investors ran for cover.

"It was uphill, but you have to be on the edge a little and realize sometimes the world has to catch up with you," said Knapp, who grew up near Horseshoe Bay and is expecting his first child with wife Kimberly.

Knapp persisted, especially with institutional investors in Ontario who were skeptical of opportunities in B.C. It paid off. Today, half of the firm's money under management is from Ontario.

Knapp said the dry spell is over and he's looked at more than 300 business plans and proposals in the last eight months.