Robertson, Sandy oral history

Sandy Robertson cofounded the investment bank Robertson Stephens and the private equity firm Francisco Partners. In this oral history, Robertson discusses his decades-long career in investment banking and his role in supporting innovative technology companies. He begins by discussing his education at the University of Michigan, his service in the U.S. Navy and his work at the brokerage company Smith Barney in San Francisco. With limited autonomy to pursue technology deals, Robertson left Smith Barney to create his own investment bank with Ken Siebel and Bob Colman in 1969. He defines the goal of Robertson, Colman & Siebel to provide investment banking advice to small companies at the same level of quality as a major firm. Robertson describes the firm’s early successes and challenges. Thom Weisel, who became a partner for several years, split off in 1978 to form rival firm Montgomery Securities. This led Robertson to regroup with Paul Stephens as Robertson Stephens. As one of the “four horsemen,” a group of boutique investment banks that worked with technology companies, Robertson Stephens took on deals with Rolm, Lotus, 3Com, Logitech, McAfee, Cypress Semiconductor, Fiserv, Verifone, Quantum, Pixar, Dell and others. Robertson Stephens hit a high point during the dot-com boom in the 1990s, but increasingly faced competition from more established investment banks for tech deals. Robertson Stephens was sold to BankAmerica in 1997, then to BankBoston in 1998. Robertson left Robertson Stephens shortly thereafter. Robertson speaks about cofounding Francisco Partners in 1999 and his work to turn around unprofitable technology companies. He explains his role on the investment committee and why he bets on the jockey, not the horse. He closes with a discussion of his legacy, the secret sauce of Silicon Valley, and his board and philanthropic involvements.