Sequoia Capital partner Andrew Reed discusses startup board governance and why rigid investor playbooks fail.
Disclosure
Sequoia Acts as Cutthroat 'Front Stabbers' for Maximum Round Allocation
“Sequoia, you know, we are as cutthroat as it gets, right? Like we are front stabbers, you know, we'll, we'll, like, we don't hide that in general we want to do usually as much of a round as we possibly can.”
Insight
Fund Returns Are Inversely Proportional to Team and Fund Size
“Doug has this presentation, he calls it the laws of physics, where one of the laws of physics is that fund returns are inversely proportional to team size, and also fund returns inversely proportional to fund size.”
Assertion Contradicted
Reed: Sequoia Capital Global Equities is largest TMT hedge fund
“Sequoia Capital Global Equities, which is, I think at this point, the largest TMT long short hedge fund in the world.”
Opinion
Reed: Silicon Valley is ethical; bad behavior comes mostly from outsiders
“By and large, people are, like, good and ethical in the Valley. Like, it's a pay it forward place. It's a repeat game. I think there's a reason why a lot of the, you know, bad behavior comes from people who aren't from Silicon Valley.”
Insight
Reed: Prior experience cannot prepare investors for VC's multifaceted demands
“It sort of doesn't matter at all what you did before, because nothing you do before joining a venture capital firm prepares you for how truly, like, multifaceted long-term success is in venture.”
Insight
Generative AI Creates Unprecedented Revenue Ramps Through Immediate Distribution
“Because of that fact, like, you know, everybody's on the internet,
All the time.
And most of these technologies are available at the get go to everybody.
you can see revenue ramps like nothing we've ever seen before, right?
because it's transformative techno…”