The Band was founded in 1994 by Johannes C. (Hans) Severiens. Hans, who passed away in February of 2004, was a former nuclear physcist, Wall Street analyst, and Venture Capitalist who formed friendships with many of the first generation of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and high technology executives—the founders of Fairchild, National Semiconductor, Genentech, Intel, Compaq, Kleiner Perkins, and Sequoia. When these executives retired from their initial career and became angel investors, Hans hit upon the idea of bringing them together at one place and time; to pool their expertise and their capital when considering investing in startups. Since the first meeting, held with twelve people in 1994, the Band has met every month without exception, in good times and bad.