Along with his friend Warren Muller, Zinn founded semiconductor company Micrel in 1978.
The pair used $300,000 in savings and bank loans to found the company, eschewing the financial support of venture capitalists. "
I wanted control of my destiny and to do it my way."
Zinn's desire to remain independent led him at one time to personally guarantee $4 million in bank loans to keep Micrel afloat.

Under Zinn's leadership, Micrel was profitable in its first year, and for 36 of its 37 years.
Zinn credits this success to the company's disciplined focus on profitability.
Micrel was also credited with having the lowest employee turn-over in the semiconductor industry and, though it is an unofficial measure, the highest "boomerang" employee rate, the rate at which employees who leave the company return.

During an investor "roadshow" promoting Micrel's initial public offering in London, England, Zinn suffered a retinal vein occlusion which reduced his vision to 20/400, making Zinn legally blind.
Zinn resisted turning control of Micrel over to another CEO.
Instead, Zinn took advantage of every technology he could to compensate for his limited eyesight.
Zinn continued to lead Micrel for another 20 years.

Zinn established a unique corporate culture at Micrel, which included unusual guidelines such as his "no swearing" policy.
Swearing or using condescending language at the company was banned.
Workers were also urged to be honest, show integrity and respect others at the company. "
We believe that work should be an extension of the home."
Micrel's humanistic corporate culture has been referred "an almost spiritual approach to doing business."

Micrel was sold to Microchip Technology in 2015.
Zinn was profiled in Sand Hill's leadership series because of the leadership ability demonstrated throughout his tenure as founder and CEO of Micrel.
Along with his friend Warren Muller, Zinn founded semiconductor company Micrel in 1978. The pair used $300,000 in savings and bank loans to found the company, eschewing the financial support of venture capitalists. "I wanted control of my destiny and to do it my way." Zinn's desire to remain independent led him at one time to personally guarantee $4 million in bank loans to keep Micrel afloat.
Under Zinn's leadership, Micrel was profitable in its first year, and for 36 of its 37 years. Zinn credits this success to the company's disciplined focus on profitability. Micrel was also credited with having the lowest employee turn-over in the semiconductor industry and, though it is an unofficial measure, the highest "boomerang" employee rate, the rate at which employees who leave the company return.
During an investor "roadshow" promoting Micrel's initial public offering in London, England, Zinn suffered a retinal vein occlusion which reduced his vision to 20/400, making Zinn legally blind. Zinn resisted turning control of Micrel over to another CEO. Instead, Zinn took advantage of every technology he could to compensate for his limited eyesight. Zinn continued to lead Micrel for another 20 years.
Zinn established a unique corporate culture at Micrel, which included unusual guidelines such as his "no swearing" policy. Swearing or using condescending language at the company was banned. Workers were also urged to be honest, show integrity and respect others at the company. "We believe that work should be an extension of the home." Micrel's humanistic corporate culture has been referred "an almost spiritual approach to doing business."
Micrel was sold to Microchip Technology in 2015. Zinn was profiled in Sand Hill's leadership series because of the leadership ability demonstrated throughout his tenure as founder and CEO of Micrel.
Ray Zinn