Kathryn Gould

Gould signed on as a consultant but after a few months Ellison wanted more. "When I joined the company full time, we had 15 employees," she says. "I can't say I honestly believed we'd make it to the end of the year. Larry went looking for money and was turned down by everybody. I could see why. He was terminally intense."

She recalls those early years as being "rowdy and chaotic and wonderful." She also remembers the dark side, the fast-talking jousts that turned on a dime into heated, macho arguments. "A lot of the guys relished the savage atmosphere. I didn't understand the right side of the brain. I'd never played team sports. I'd never really 'hung out.' I was not the political equal of some of these guys. I was off the bus."

But Gould shows no bitterness. In fact, she smiles. "Larry got turned down for money because VCs had to wonder if he wasn't insane. He had no college degree, no real resume. The VCs were focusing on the guy and not on the business opportunity. But I can focus on the right things. I'm running my own show now."

And looking for the next Larry Ellison. Somewhere out there is another manic leader, another unwashed world-changer. It could be a woman - she recently backed one -- but it's certainly someone who wants to start something that defies human possibilities. The CEOs she funds "all know where they are going and how to get there," she says. "They show me their internal compasses. I don't care whether someone has a college degree or even has had a spectacular failure. I invest in lucky people. They've been to the brink, or over it. The lucky ones learn and get perspective."

Gould considers herself lucky. Her life is demanding. She has as many as 40 hot business plans on her desk in any given week. She also has a husband, George, and an 8-year-old son. She wishes she'd had time for another. She wishes she could play her violin more, spend more time with her local chamber group, ride horses. She and George own a twin-engine Beechcraft turbo-prop. "Flying is serious," she says. "You get behind the controls, you forget about everything else and concentrate. It's really intense and relaxing. We take it out to the desert or down to the beach."

Though they both used to fly the plane, she recently quit. No time to maintain her qualifications. She regrets it. Other than that, "My only regret would be if one of my companies lost money. No, I wouldn't really regret that. I'd just be pissed. Great startups are acts of passion."

"Tom Siebel"

"Mike Seashols"

"Kathryn Gould"

"Jay Verkler"

"Oracle Intermission"