August 21, 2024
I write this to honor the memory of my mentor, colleague and dear friend, Sandy Robertson, after his recent passing. Sandy was a man respected and loved by those who knew him. In fact, Crosslink’s roots trace back to his firm, Robertson, Stephens and Co. (RS & Co.), founded in 1978. Sy Kaufman and I joined RS & Co. in 1983. Sixteen years later we acquired the venture funds we had been managing at RS & Co. and together founded Crosslink Capital. In many ways, RS & Co. was the cultural model for Crosslink. Sy and I both wanted to replicate Sandy’s congenial tone, his sense of fair play, his driving ambition to succeed, his respect for business insight and expertise no matter how young the source, and his collaborative ethos which inspired all levels of staffing at RS & Co. Because of his example and leadership, young employees like me learned how to best use their skills and knowledge to great advantage in investment banking and research.
Every year at the “kids’ Christmas party,” held in the firm’s office at One Embarcadero, Sandy gathered all the families of the employees to dazzle the kids with Pipi the Clown, face painting, a very messy cookie decoration station, animal handlers, balloon animal makers and professional actors. No expense was spared and the office carpet was thereafter in need of professional cleaning. Every year, Sandy spoke to this gathering, and it was remarkable how touched he was by the throngs of children and toddlers his work and his firm were supporting. He also made an effort to acknowledge the spouses’ contributions to the firm’s relationship building process with outside VCs and start up CEOs. He was gracious in all things. Here is me in 1992 holding my young son and a delighted Sandy with a trained parrot perched on his shoulder.
Sandy was raised in the Midwest where his father ran a successful restaurant. He graduated from the University of Michigan’s Business School for which he later became a strong financial backer and supporter of the University’s mission. He moved to San Francisco in 1965 and quickly identified the investment banking needs of the nascent Silicon Valley; three years before Intel was even founded. He became part of the inception of the valley’s venture capital industry and developed strong personal and professional relationships with the founders of the first VC firms.
In 1983, when I joined RS & Co., he introduced me to his vast and talented network and elevated me by referring to me as his partner in all things semiconductor. And, as a result, I developed relationships with Dick Kramlich, the founder of New Enterprise Associates and Pierre Lamond, a principal at Sequoia Capital and a founder of National Semiconductor. Co-investing several times with both Dick and Pierre further deepened my understanding of venture capital.
During my tenure at RS & Co., I was a research analyst, I led eight venture capital investments in the 1980’s, and was later promoted to Director of Research, landing me on the firm’s impressive management committee. In addition to Sandy and Paul Stephens, this group included the firm’s eventual CEO Mike McCaffery, COO Randy Hecht, Ken Fitzsimmons, Sy Kaufman and David Goldsmith. Sandy and Paul had recruited every one of us.
Back in 1989, the first venture capital fund I managed with Sy Kaufman raised $22 million. As Crosslink grew, many of our former partners became great supporters by joining as investors. And, as we have now grown to nearly $5 billion in assets under management, Crosslink has been fortunate to hire many RS & Co. alumni, including: Nancy Douglas, Tom Bliska, Bill Nolan, Gary Hromadko, Jim Feuille, Stephen Perkins, Joel Hausman and David Silverman, my current co-Managing Partner. In many ways, I owe Sandy my career because he was a superb role model and also because he personally invested in my training and success at a pivotal moment in my development as an investor.
I send my sincere condolences to Nancy, his three daughters and all the grandchildren as we mourn his passing and reflect on his remarkable and indelible legacy in Silicon Valley.
Michael Stark
Founder and Managing Partner
Crosslink Capital