The character of Ralph Gibsen, the protagonist of The Knucklehead of Silicon Valley isn't based on the author G. Craig Vachon.

Not in any way.

Sure, they both are big, goofy lummoxes and they are married to beautiful, smart women that could have coupled more advantageously. And yes, Ralph & Craig are both overly-lucky, Silicon Valley-based venture capitalists living on the beaches near Santa Cruz, CA. And both spend too much time in business-class seats flying to strange places and meeting exotic people. But that's where the similarities end.

No, really.

Craig grew up in New England as the eldest son of immigrants. He graduated 3rd-in-his-class (sadly, it was from the bottom of the ranks) from  a prep school with a formal dress code. In rebellion, he hasn't worn socks since. On the 1st day of college, upon seeing a very attractive woman signing up for the debate club, Craig did so likewise. Eventually, success on the debate team allowed Craig to earn two degrees in Rhetoric. After graduation, he couldn't find a real job,  he started his own company. Two years later, he sold the marketing company & moved to Tokyo to work with the acquirer.

Over the next 30 years, Craig has lived and worked as an entrepreneur in Japan (2X), China, India, Europe, and Canada. He's earned 7.4M airline miles & typically spends >150 nights per year in a foreign hotel room. His small VC firm (Chowdahead) invests in great founders of start-up companies who are trying to make the world a slightly better place.

Craig started writing when he moved abroad and couldn't afford long-distance calling. He'd type his earliest missives onto a single page and fax his adventures to friends and family. Because his mother (and mentor) were fax recipients, he wrote in the third-person using his childhood imaginary friend's name (Ralph - an amazing coincidence) as the protagonist of his missives. Inasmuch, Craig's mother couldn't get too anxious/upset when "Ralph" did something dumb/dangerous/risque.