Tyson Clark, a general partner with the venture arm of the internet company, died suddenly. Tyson Clark, the general partner of the team, passed away yesterday due to sudden complications from a health issue. We are shattered by the loss. Tyson's family and loved ones are in our thoughts. We are privileged to know him. We will miss him a lot.
Clark joined the company six years ago to focus on enterprise technology, including startups in the data center infrastructure spaces.
He joined the powerful investing unit after working for Morgan Stanley as an investment banker, and before working for Oracle as a corporate development manager.
Clark was one of a small group of Black investors in the most senior positions of the venture industry. Clark was just as rare as a VC who had served his country. He spent six years in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear submarine officer. He hosted a conversation about attracting more vets into tech with A.J. Altman, the founder of the company that creates 3D models of properties.
Clark, who studied industrial engineering at Stanford and had an masters degree from Harvard Business School, talked with TechCrunch in October about his latest investment, Vareto.
During the height of the Pandemic, he was investing in companies and meeting with them remotely.
Clark spoke with Sonal and the otherPanelists for a virtual summit last year. The investors career paths were the focus of the discussion.
Tyson didn't talk about his intelligence or personality when he was asked about the "key skill" that made him an investor. You can teach how to invest. You can teach how to use a board. You cannot teach a network. You show up with your friends.
He gave no-nonsense advice when he was asked about who gets credit for a particular investment. He said to play it cool. It isn't about internal attribution. He had said that it was all about attribution. You want to make sure people know about the deals you have done. It can be very political if you claim credit for a deal. You have to navigate the political structure within your firm.
Clark spoke about being one of the most prominent Black VCs in Silicon Valley.
He wondered if he had done enough to support the Black Lives Matter movement and worried he was coming up short. Is it possible that I have traded success for not making a difference? Clark spoke to the outlet. There are a group of people in my position who want to do something, but feel like we don't have enough power yet to be influential on this topic. It is painful for us to feel powerless.
Clark will be missed by many, including the team members he touched. He has worked at dozens of companies over the years, including Palo Alto Networks, which acquired Evident.io in the fall of 2018).
Clark was a board member of the San Francisco Museum of Art, Summer Search, and Resurge International, which works with high school students from low-income communities to overcome systemic inequalities.
