Shockley, however, lacked experience in business and industrial management. Moreover, he decided that the lab would research an invention of his own, the four-layer diode, rather than developing the diffused silicon transistor that he and Beckman had agreed upon. Beckman was reassured by his engineers that the scientific ideas behind Shockley's project were still sound. When appealed to by members of Shockley's lab, Beckman chose not to interfere with its management. In 1957, eight leading scientists including Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce left Shockley's group to form a competing startup, Fairchild Semiconductor, which would successfully develop silicon transistors. In 1960, Beckman sold the Shockley subsidiary to the Clevite Transistor Company, ending his formal association with semiconductors. Nonetheless, Beckman had been an essential backer of the new industry in its initial stages.