Sequoia's 2008 'Rest in Peace' Doomsday Presentation Was Incorrect
Scott Kupor · Scott Kupor - Andreessen Horowitz (First Meeting EP.07) · Sep 2, 2019 · at 20:29
Scott Kupor, Managing Partner of Andreessen Horowitz, contrasts a16z's optimistic 2009 launch with Sequoia Capital's infamous 2008 'R.I.P. Good Times' presentation urging portfolio founders to prepare for an apocalyptic downturn.
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“If you were around here in the valley at the end of oh eight, Sequoia, who's a very well-regarded and has been a very successful firm, Put out this presentation called Rest in Peace, and it had a skull and crossbones and a tombstone on the front of it, and they brought all their CEOs in. This was September of eight. They basically said, look, the world is ending. You will never raise another dime. Lay off as many people as you possibly can. Put locks around every single bank account you own and assume that the world is basically coming to an end. And it turned out not to be correct, of course, even though we went through, obviously, a difficult downturn.”
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