About Don Valentine
Donald Thomas Valentine (June 26, 1932 – October 25, 2019) was an American venture capitalist who was the founder of Sequoia Capital, with a concentration mainly on technology companies in the United States. Valentine was born and educated in New York City, and first came to California during military service, an experience that led him to remain in the region where he would later shape the venture capital industry. Valentine was a major name for venture investing in Silicon Valley. Valentine was known for an investment style that emphasized large markets, early inflection points and humble founders, shaping Sequoia's reputation for discipline in early-stage technology investing. His approach to investing helped establish Sequoia Capital as an influential venture firm, backing companies such as Apple, Oracle, Cisco, Google, YouTube, NVIDIA, Airbnb, and WhatsApp. == Early life and education == Valentine was born on June 26, 1932, in New York City, and grew up in the Bronx in a working class family. He was Catholic, and his family has a Danish background. He attended Mount Saint Michael Academy. Valentine’s parents had limited formal education, and his father worked on a milk route, while his mother was a homemaker. Valentine’s mother suffered from tuberculosis, with her treatment placing her in an iron lung and only allowing Valentine and his brother to wave at her through the hospital window.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.