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 7 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
Power: Post-recession startups succeed due to founder pain thresholds, not asset pricing
“One of the reasons why the best companies have founded directly after recession has nothing to do with like pricing. It's just that you get people like Airbnb or Travis from Uber where they're just like, I have no other option. So my pain threshold is stupidly…”
Pincus: Advised Brian Chesky against celebrity chef Airbnb Experiences
“At one point, Airbnb, when they were launching experiences had, their original idea was that you'd have, like, Michael Minna come cook in your home, and all these amazing experiences, and I said to Brian Chesky, you know, I don't want Michael Minna, with all d…”
Lin: Airbnb, DoorDash, Snowflake, and Square drove Sequoia's $43B distribution
“Airbnb, DoorDash, Unity, Snowflake I'm sure I'm missing a few others. Mongo, Square.”
Weisburd: Founders Fund invests up to 25% of a fund in single positions
“He puts in every fund founders fund, I think puts up to 25%. Somebody could correct me, but up to 25%, a single position, they've done that with SpaceX, Airbnb, all these, you know, iconic companies.”
Lin: Airbnb went from 40% growth to losing 80% of revenue
“A company that is used to growing 30, 40% a year went to losing 80% of its revenue.”
Lin: Airbnb raised debt instead of equity in 2020 to avoid dilution
“Obviously we needed to raise money. Do we do it in equity? Do we do it in debt? Equity would be very punitive at that time. We decided to do it in debt.”
Brian Chesky was a great storyteller but needed early operational help
“Brian Chesky doesn't need to be told how to tell a story. He's such a great storyteller. But, you know, international expansion, sort of setting up operations. He may need more help on recruiting, what to look for, et cetera, in the early days.”