The scene was an Atherton power dinner hosted by industrialist Sherman Fairchild, who gave Noyce, Sporck, Sanders and the rest their shot at stardom by fronting the money to launch Fairchild Semiconductor.
"Fairchild was well into his 70s, and very wealthy," says Sporck. "His father was one of the founders of IBM. And he loved the women -- the younger, the better.
"So here comes Jerry Sanders, who was a Fairchild salesman, and two IBM engineers. This was in the days when IBM was a very staid kind of organization, a typical East Coast, white-shirt-and-tie company. Jerry looks at Sherman and says, `I understand that we're dating the same girl.' The two engineers just shrink under the table, and Sherman says, `Yeah, is that right?' and pulls out his black book. Now keep in mind, Sanders was in his early 20s."
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