Tom Alberg, a co-founder of Madrona Venture Group and an early backer of Amazon.com Inc., has passed away. He was 82.
According to a statement made public by Madrona, Alberg passed away on Friday.
Alberg assisted Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in the middle of the 1990s in raising capital for the budding e-commerce business. Alberg’s job included educating possible donors on the potential of the nascent internet. In the end, the fund received $1 million from 22 contributors over the course of a year, including Alberg and Bezos’s parents, who normally contributed $50,000 each contributor for a 1 percent interest.
At the time, Alberg said, “It’s really hazardous. “But Jeff really is. He is undoubtedly a brilliant man. He feels strongly about it.
In order to sell books, Bezos built the amazon.com website in July 1995 after establishing his business in July 1994. Alberg claimed in a 1999 Wired magazine interview that Amazon made $6,000 to $10,000 in sales in the first few weeks and $20,000 per week by the end of September.
There was definitely a tendency there, he said.
to put it mildly. Amazon went on to grow into the biggest online retailer in the world, selling everything from socks to mattresses (and yes, books), and Bezos briefly held the title of richest person in the world.
Alberg’s name was the only one of the 22 first investors disclosed in the S-1 filing when Amazon went public in 1997. At the time, he held 195,000 shares, which he gradually decreased over time.
Alberg held a position on the Amazon board for more than 20 years before resigning in 2019 to make room for fresh faces. “I’ll miss his sound judgement, deep well of business & life experience, and his quick wit,” Bezos tweeted at the time. He is a wise businessman and an even better guy.
In a statement he released on Saturday, Bezos referred to Alberg as a “visionary” and a friend. The heads of other major digital companies, such as Microsoft Corp. CEO Satya Nadella and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, also paid respect to Alberg.
Alberg’s defining investment experience was with Amazon. However, through Madrona, which he co-founded in 1995, Alberg assisted in providing startup advice and bringing them public. The majority were based in Seattle, where he grew up.
One such company is Impinj Inc., whose wireless technology enables businesses to identify, track down, and authenticate billions of commonplace goods like golf balls, clothing, and luggage. During Alberg’s tenure, Madrona also benefited from an early investment in storage company Isilon Systems Inc., which EMC Corp. bought in 2010 for $2.25 billion.
Alberg’s industry knowledge was utilised by President Barack Obama in 2009 when he appointed him to the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Thomas Alberg and Miriam Twitchell Alberg welcomed Tom Austin Alberg into the world on February 12, 1940 in San Francisco.
After earning his degree, Alberg worked as an associate at Cravath Swaine & Moore in New York before transferring to Perkins Coie, a sizable Seattle firm, in 1967. He became a partner there in 1971 and served as primary counsel for several pioneering technology businesses as well as Boeing Co. and Alaska Airlines.
Prior to founding Madrona, Alberg served as executive vice president of AT&T Wireless from 1990 to 1995 and assisted in the sale of McCaw and LIN Broadcasting to AT&T.
He married twice. He wed Mary Ann Johnke in 1963. Robert, Katherine, and John were their three children. Alberg wed Judith Beck after divorcing Mary Ann in 1989. Children Carson and Jessica were born to them. According to Madrona, Alberg is survived by Judi, his five children, and four grandchildren.
