Don Valentine
Donald Thomas Valentine (June 26, 1932 – October 25, 2019) founded Sequoia Capital in 1972 and made early investments in Atari, Apple, Oracle, Cisco, and Electronic Arts.1 The Computer History Museum credited him with playing "a key role in the formation of a number of industries such as semiconductors, personal computers, personal computer software, digital entertainment and networking."5
Early Life
Valentine was born on June 26, 1932, in New York City and grew up in the Bronx in a working-class family.1 His father worked a milk route; his mother was a homemaker who suffered from tuberculosis and spent time in an iron lung during Valentine's childhood.1 He attended Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx.1
He chose Fordham University because it was affordable and close to home, paying tuition quarterly in cash.1 He graduated with a BA and later said his Jesuit education at Fordham shaped his analytical, Socratic style.1 After college, he served briefly in the U.S. military, which brought him to California for the first time — an experience that led him to settle permanently in the region.1
Career
Semiconductor Industry (1950s–1972)
Valentine began his career as a sales engineer at Raytheon before joining Fairchild Semiconductor, where he managed worldwide sales during the expansion of silicon-based integrated circuits.1 Through continuous contact with early-stage chip customers, he developed instincts for identifying which young companies had genuine potential.1 He later moved to National Semiconductor as a senior sales and marketing executive, designing a new sales strategy that helped return the company to profitability.1 The Computer History Museum lists him as a co-founder of National Semiconductor.5
Founding of Sequoia Capital (1972)
In 1972, Valentine founded Sequoia Capital.1 At the time, less than $50 million in total was focused on early-stage technology investing across the entire United States.1 Valentine's goal was to identify large markets early and back companies capable of dominating them.3 He named the firm after the California redwood, one of the world's largest and longest-living trees.6
Sequoia's first investment was in Atari in 1975, before Atari was acquired by Warner Communications for $28 million.1 Valentine met Steve Jobs when Jobs was a line engineer at Atari, which led to a $150,000 investment in Apple Computer in 1978.1 Sequoia also made early investments in LSI Logic, Oracle, Cisco Systems, and Electronic Arts.1
Cisco Systems became Sequoia's most profitable early investment. Valentine joined Cisco's board and helped recruit professional management, including CEO John Morgridge.1 During the mid-1980s downturn, Valentine insisted on disciplined spending across the portfolio, helping Sequoia avoid the speculative losses that affected other firms.1
Investment Philosophy
Valentine's approach centered on market size rather than product features. He looked for companies addressing large markets at technological "inflection points" — moments when disruption created openings for new entrants.1 He favored founders who "knew what they didn't know" and were intellectually humble over those who relied on charisma.1
His boardroom style was blunt and Socratic. He demanded brevity in business plans; he once required an entrepreneur to rewrite an entire proposal onto the back of a business card.3 He preferred Bay Area companies, arguing that leaving Silicon Valley meant leaving behind more opportunity than could be found elsewhere.3 He was also skeptical of hype-driven trends, including the early "Information Highway" rhetoric of the 1990s.1
Valentine was also a chairman of NetApp and served on the boards of Apple, Atari, Cisco Systems, Electronic Arts, Linear Technology, LSI Logic, Microchip Technology, Oracle, and PMC-Sierra.1
Notable Investments
| Company | Year | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Atari | 1975 | Acquired by Warner Communications for $28M |
| Apple Computer | 1978 | IPO 1980; one of the most valuable companies in history |
| Oracle | Early 1980s | IPO 1986 |
| Electronic Arts | 1983 | IPO 1989 |
| Cisco Systems | 1987 | IPO 1990; peak market cap over $500B |
Legacy
Valentine died on October 25, 2019, in Woodside, California, at age 87.1 He is survived by three children and seven grandchildren.1 Sequoia Capital published a tribute calling him "one of the generation of leaders who forged Silicon Valley."2
Under Valentine's leadership and the culture he instilled, Sequoia went on to back Google, YouTube, PayPal, NVIDIA, Airbnb, LinkedIn, Zappos, Square, Stripe, and WhatsApp.1 His successors, including Michael Moritz and Alfred Lin, carried the firm's philosophy into new eras of technology investing and global expansion.1 Valentine was featured in the 2011 documentary Something Ventured, which chronicled the emergence of American venture capital.1