32 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} booth, right next to the long wooden bar surrounded by the colorful, kitschy objets d’art that put this Woodside eatery on the map. Servers stop by just to say hello, as does Buck’s co-owner Rowan MacNiven, a tangible sign that the Drapers have become cherished regulars. When asked what these breakfasts with Adam mean to him, Bill responds without any hesitation. “My pride in this guy is that he is great are a study in contrasts: Bill, at 96, is a dapper and distinguished figure in a sport coat, plaid shirt and slacks. Adam, who is a very youthful 30-something, wears the requisite “tech casual” uniform: a company T-shirt and jeans. Bill orders his usual: two eggs, sunny side-up, along with black coffee. Adam says he likes to vary his order by sometimes adding pancakes to his eggs. They know the menu so well they don’t have to look at it anymore. The two men always sit in the same company and I was so excited when he thought this would be a good thing to do.” Smiling, he adds, “I didn’t realize that he would have as much fun as I would have.” Bill says that all of his children heeded his advice to stay in California to pursue careers. “I said to all of them when they were around seven years old: ‘If you live here, there are wonderful people, great weather and a lot of exciting progress, thanks to people who want to change the world.’” With a sly wink he adds, “I decided they would have been stupid to leave this area—and they didn’t.” Adam obviously took his grandfather’s advice to heart, heading south to attend UCLA and then returning to the Bay Area, where he lives with Andrea and their three children. In 2012, at just 26 years old, he founded Boost VC. The company has met with success investing in deep tech, virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technology. Although he represents a different generation of venture capital, Adam has found that some sage advice from Pops still comes in handy. Adam relates that he shared a problem over
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