In a world where we’ve gotten more cynical about technology there’s something pure about Pixar that people trust, says former CFO Lawrence Levy. With 29 films over 30 years, the company has never compromised in striving to entertain families in a wholesome way. But, in the early days, Pixar almost didn’t make it.
On stage for CHM Live on November 20, 2025, insiders told the behind-the-scenes story of how Silicon Valley investment bankers rallied around the struggling company next door. They wrangled founder Steve Jobs and manufactured an improbable IPO that rescued Pixar and delivered the first feature-length, computer animated film—the beloved Toy Story. The program was made possible by the generous support of J.P. Morgan.
Moderator Paul Noglows, formerly of Hambrecht & Quist, is cowriting a book with JP Mark, formerly of Robertson Stephens, on the two companies, which, along with Cowen, were the investment banks behind the Pixar IPO (initial public offering). He opened the discussion by asking Levy what it was like at Pixar in the spring of 1995, less than a year before the IPO.
The Setting
Levy had arrived at Pixar in late 1994 and quickly realized the company was doomed. It was facing three major challenges. The first was Steve Jobs, who was at a low point in his career and as difficult as ever. The second was that Pixar had no business, profits, or money. Despite their groundbreaking RenderMan graphics software, Jobs was covering payroll with personal checks. The third problem was that the company had signed a crippling contract with Disney.
Lawrence Levy unpacks Pixar’s contract with Disney.
Although Pixar was in dire straits, Steve Jobs had aspirations for it to go public, and he wanted Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to underwrite the IPO. But the investment banking behemoths immediately saw that the company did not have “up and to the right” growth potential and declined to invest.
So, with Jobs’ begrudging agreement, Levy took the deal to his “local heroes at Robertson Stephens.” Former President and CEO Michael McCaffery remembered that it was hard to figure out who on staff could check out a company that wasn’t like anything on their typical list of semiconductors, software, computing systems, and communications. They, too, realized the numbers weren’t there, but that didn’t scare them. And when they saw what Pixar was doing, they were excited.
Cristina Morgan, the head of technology investment banking at Hambrecht & Quist at the time, also went down to see Pixar. As a Board member of Steve Jobs' NeXT, CEO Dan Case had told Jobs that H&Q would play any role he wanted them to in an IPO. Like H&Q, she, too, was impressed with what she saw at the Pixar studio.
Cristina Morgan describes her first visit to Pixar.
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