The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 23 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Wang: Chinese companies have become less transparent over time
“It is, it has been more difficult for us to say invest in Chinese companies. And it's not just the macro, right? It's. It's these companies have been become less transparent with us over time.”
Wang: SCGE goes long Nvidia and shorts moatless server hardware stocks
“We can go long NVIDIA and then we can short a bunch of the companies that I think don't have the depth of modes that NVIDIA has.”
Wang: AI generates $15 billion in incremental EBIT for Meta
“We estimate that it's not just delivering revenue. I think it's already delivering about fifteen billion of incremental EBIT, EBIT for Meta, right?”
Wang: Only trim stocks when valuations get 18 months ahead of fundamentals
“I tell my team, don't tell me if, you know, ServiceNow is 10% too expensive. If we have a three to five year investment hold period, you know, 10%, if you get six months ahead yourself in terms of the pricing, it's not going to impact your IRR that much. Where…”
Wang: SCGE internal employee surveys turned 'downright awful' in 2022
“The initial, I'd say right post COVID, the surveys were very positive. You know, everyone's super happy. You know, everyone's feeling fulfilled. They're doing good work. And then you can see the surveys just getting worse and worse. And then in 20, 22, they're…”
Wang: Sequoia considered shutting down its global equities fund in 2016
“And so there's this crucible moment in 2016 where Sequoia decided to part ways with the original PM and actually consider shutting down the business entirely.”
Wang: SCGE held Twilio too long, missing out on legendary returns
“So Twilio initially was a very good investment for us and actually ended up being a decent investment overall. It could have been a legendary investment. We held on for too long.”
Wang: SCGE is prioritizing public markets over privates due to deal quality
“And so right now, for example, we do not see for SCGE as many opportunities in the private markets And so most of our attention is actually on the public markets.”
Wang: SCGE takes carry once every three years instead of annually
“We have also a three-year incentive crystallization. And so what that means is most hedge funds, as you probably know, just take carry at the end of each calendar year. We take carry once every three years, and we also vest ourselves over a three year period.”
Wang: Only one-third of SCGE's portfolio consists of Sequoia venture companies
“So there is a portion of our business that, our portfolio that is Prior or existing Sequoia portfolio companies, right? That's maybe about a third of the portfolio”
Wang: SCGE should have trimmed portfolio positions more aggressively in 2022
“I think 2022 was a period where a lot of these stocks got ahead of themselves and we should have, we had to trim, we trimmed a bunch, but we should have trimmed more.”
Wang: SCGE shorts companies to express long-side disruptive themes, not find fraud
“So we are not looking for frauds. We're not looking for valuation arbitrage. We're looking to further express a disruptive thematic viewpoint that we hold on the long side, albeit on the short side.”
Wang: SCGE has had only one down year in 15 years
“Now we've been in business now, 15 years. We've had one down year over that 15 year timeframe.”
Wang: Shopify is one of SCGE's biggest winning investments
“So Shopify is has been one of our biggest winners. It is also one of my bigger regrets in terms of post COVID.”
Wang: SCGE assigns separate partners as devil's advocates on controversial deals
“One thing that we will do is we will have a fresh underwrite from a different partner where you have a devil's advocate position.”
Wang: SCGE allocates 70% of research to themes, 30% to companies
“For us, 70% of our research process is actually up front on the theme, and only 30% on the actual company.”
Wang: SCGE originally invested in non-tech assets including ports and airlines
“Gone were the days of investing in lodging companies, port infrastructure. We even invested in an airline miles program.”
Wang: SCGE targets steady-state private exposure of 20% to 25%
“I think closer to 20 to 25% would be more comfortable because then that gives us an opportunity to add. I think If we are focused primarily on the public markets, let's say if we had 50% of the portfolio private, that would feel too illiquid to me. So 20 to 25…”
Wang: VC and PE firms launching public funds historically fail
“The history of venture PE firms launching public funds has not been a good one.”
Wang: SCGE manages $9B across two-thirds public and one-third private investments
“We had fifty million of internal capital. We now manage about nine billion of mostly external LP capital, but that internal capital amount is also now about a billion. The portfolio is about two thirds public and then one third private. And that one third priv…”
Jeff Wang took a 70% pay cut to join SCGE in 2010
“On the flip side though I was taking a 70% pay cut and there was a real risk of failure, right? Most hedge fund launches don't survive.”