Late tech boss' heartfelt post about family resurfaces after Florida plane crash

More tragic details from the November 1 Learjet 60 crash are emerging, including details about tech founder Adam Robinson.

The Austin-based entrepreneur was named among the nine victims who sadly perished when the private plane crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida.

Departing from Austin–Bergstrom International Airport in Texas to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas, the pilots reported bad weather and turbulence while traveling over Florida at 35,000 feet. Air Traffic Control authorized a climb to 37,000 feet to try and avoid the perilous conditions, but shortly after, audio from co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras records her calling mayday and explaining that the plane was descending at 10,000 feet a minute.

It's said the Learjet 60 fell into a steep nosedive and crashed into the ground in a fireball that claimed the lives of all those on board.

While much of the media attention has been on Filgueiras and the vocal minority who've called out the 20-year-old's flying experience, others like NASA chief Jared Isaacman have jumped to her defense.

Who was Adam Robinson?

It's said that Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, their two young children, their nanny, two other adults, Filgueiras, and Captain Jeff Gregory account for all those on board. Robinson's LinkedIn lists the 45-year-old as a tech executive who was the CEO of RB2B and Retention.com.

It's believed they were bootstrapped (built with his own investment) companies that helped other businesses identify visitors to their site and then access B2B contact information. His LinkedIn also reveals that he used to work on Wall Street as a Credit Default Swap trader at Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital, created content for the business social media platform, and made a 2023 docuseries called Bitcoin Dollar Challenge.

Robinson was vocal on both LinkedIn and X, often sharing advice on how to build successful businesses, but in the aftermath of the Learjet 60 crash, some of his posts have resurfaced.

In particular, the media and general public are latching onto an April 28 post on X where he explained why he moved away from Wall Street.

Here, the late tech founder wrote that people working 70, 80, or 90 hours a week are neglecting their families: "They didn’t understand why their families resented how much they worked when they lived in a nice house, and their kids went to private schools. It was just the world we all lived in. We knew nothing else."

Vowing that this wouldn't be his startup journey, Robinson said he and his co-founders always had a policy of quitting at 5 or 5:30, shutting off his laptop, avoiding work talk, and going home to his family: "Frequently I’m out even earlier - 3-5, depending on whether I want to do something with the kids. I rarely travel for work and don’t entertain for work."

In a particularly poignant bit, Robinson said: "My family life gives me energy for my work. My work gives me energy for my family life. I'm trying to stay not burnt out and excited about this for several decades."

Robinson concluded: "Can every founder choose this? Maybe not everybody, but more people have the choice than realize they do. There is great reward that comes from designing a business around the life you want."

The comments were full of condolences and commiserations for the loss of Robinson and his family, but as others scrolled further back, they took notice of another April 2026 post.

Here, Robinson wrote: "You don't need to crash a plane to learn to fly ... and you don't need VC to build a business."

While it's a tragic coincidence that he made this post some seven months before he'd lose his life in a plane accident, the replies are full of those branding the whole thing as 'eerie'.