The first time I met Bill Campbell was at Ben Horowitz's home in Atherton. I had no idea who he was. So we got into a conversation and eventually a debate. For

The first time I met Bill Campbell was at Ben Horowitz's home in Atherton. I had no idea who he was. So we got into a conversation and eventually a debate. For more than 2 hours, we went back and forth on things like who sucked more, Duke football or Columbia football. All I knew at that point was that this dude went to Columbia and I went to Duke. So here I was joking and arguing with this good old fellow, innocently. So when lunch was served, someone (a young aspiring guy who was among many trying to get talk time with Ben Horowitz) came to me and told me that 'if I knew who that old guy I was yelling at was I would be embarrassed by my actions'. I didn't take it to heart but I decided to tone it down a little. After lunch, Bill came back for me, ready for more. I was now reluctant to engage. Sensing the drop in intensity, he said , "Why are you not arguing anymore? Did someone come and tell you who I am and now you figure we can't go at it?" I told him yes. He told me to relax and stand my ground in the argument. He went and grabbed a couple of beers, punched me playfully and and told me to have a cold one and get back at it. We talked and talked and talked, great conversationist that guy. Then we played a volleyball game a little later, unsurprisingly, I was his first pick. Afterwards, he personally introduced me to Ben Horowitz and invited him to our conversation. Now it was two against one. Ben eventually told me that Bill had actually been the coach for the Columbia team and had a forgettable record. haha, I pinned him on that one. We eventually parted ways sometime after dinner. He gave me his details and surprisingly he is the one who followed up with me first. Since that day, he was a mentor to me, occasionally checking in on me and telling me whenever he was in town so we could link up. He has had an influence on many of the projects I have worked on and jobs I took up. Rest in peace Bill, you were a rare breed. I owe a lot of what I have become to you. You have left a void that will be difficult to fill.