Adam Robinson, the 45-year-old CEO of Austin-based Retention.com, was killed Sunday along with his wife, Helen Sharp, 40, and their two young children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, when the private jet carrying them crashed in a Palm Beach County neighborhood. The family was among nine people killed when the Learjet 60, traveling from Austin to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas, went down in Florida.
Just days before the crash, Robinson had shared a business milestone on LinkedIn, writing that his company RB2B had reached $10 million in annual recurring revenue. “RB2B is $10m ARR with 1 FTE,” he wrote. “MoltSets is almost $1m ARR.” Two months earlier, he had described the $9.5 million mark as a step toward what he called “the promised land.”
Robinson co-founded and led Retention.com, which helps businesses identify website visitors for advertising and marketing purposes. The company went on to launch RB2B, a tool for identifying potential customers browsing business websites, while Robinson also ran MoltSets, a service providing business contact information such as work emails and phone numbers.
In what turned out to be his final LinkedIn post, Robinson wrote about an ongoing debate with his friend Jesse Ouellette over whether RB2B and MoltSets should be merged. Ouellette reportedly believed combining the two products could cut customer turnover and double revenue, while Robinson preferred to keep them separate.
“My question: WHY DO I NEED TO DO EITHER OF THOSE THINGS?” Robinson wrote. “Honestly, I’d be thrilled if RB2B never grew another dollar.”
The two had planned to resolve their disagreement during a live debate scheduled for Tuesday on a show called “Claude Did What!!??” “So we’re settling it LIVE,” Robinson wrote. “There’s much more to his argument, but I’m saving it for Tuesday. Grab some popcorn and pick a side.” He never made it to the broadcast.
In a joint statement to Fox News Digital, the Robinson and Sharp families remembered the couple and their children. “Adam and Helen were devoted parents, and Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, were the light of their lives. Helen and Adam were the love affair that will last forever,” the statement read. “Their warmth, generosity and gift for making people feel welcome touched so many lives. Their loss will be felt deeply by all those who loved them and who they loved in return.”
Retention.com, RB2B and MoltSets also issued a statement honoring Robinson as “a friend, a mentor and a bold, outspoken leader who lived life to the fullest.” The companies added, “He cared deeply about the people around him and brought energy and conviction to everything he built. His loss is deeply felt across our team and the tech community, as we collectively mourn this significant loss.”
What Happened on the Flight
The Learjet 60 departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at about 10:37 a.m. Sunday carrying two crew members and seven passengers. The crew reported light clear ice and moderate turbulence while flying at roughly 35,000 feet and requested clearance to climb to 37,000 feet. Less than 30 seconds after that request was approved, the crew reported the plane was descending and issued a mayday call before it crashed in a Palm Beach County neighborhood.
Federal investigators said Monday that weather conditions are a major focus of their inquiry and that there are signs the aircraft began breaking apart before it hit the ground. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
