Doug Leone

You better have a C fund. You better get there as early as you can because you also get to affect the DNA of the company in what I believe to be the right way because you've had 30, 40 years of experience. And the DNA is set in the first 30, 60 days. So everything changes. Your approach to the market changes. Your ability to move changes. You have to create a spec for what is a seed investment.

You better have a C fund. You better get there as early as you can because you also get to affect the DNA of the company in what I believe to be the right way because you've had 30, 40 years of experience. And the DNA is set in the first 30, 60 days. So everything changes. Your approach to the market changes. Your ability to move changes. You have to create a spec for what is a seed investment.

Is it really the same type of due diligence as you do in a Series A? Or is it just a spiky, super talented founders? Here's a million dollars. Everything changes. Your strategy changes. And when that happened, we did a few things. We did three things, actually. We're vertically integrated from 100K, 50K investment to our biggest investments are billion dollars.

Is it really the same type of due diligence as you do in a Series A? Or is it just a spiky, super talented founders? Here's a million dollars. Everything changes. Your strategy changes. And when that happened, we did a few things. We did three things, actually. We're vertically integrated from 100K, 50K investment to our biggest investments are billion dollars.

We have written twice a billion dollar investment. Second, we have gone across geos. Why? Because all companies in the US go to Europe, all your companies go to the US. We know the world irrespective of... Everything you're reading is more globalized now than it's ever been. India, India founders in the US. There are certain companies we can't tell if they're in the US.

We have written twice a billion dollar investment. Second, we have gone across geos. Why? Because all companies in the US go to Europe, all your companies go to the US. We know the world irrespective of... Everything you're reading is more globalized now than it's ever been. India, India founders in the US. There are certain companies we can't tell if they're in the US.

We went into China, as you know. Now China has to build their own tech stacks, which is a smart thing. We have to build our own. So there's some issues there for sure. We went into Israel. So we went across GEOs because companies want to go across GEOs. We vertically integrated. And the last thing we did, we threw technology at our business. We can't run like a law firm structure.

We went into China, as you know. Now China has to build their own tech stacks, which is a smart thing. We have to build our own. So there's some issues there for sure. We went into Israel. So we went across GEOs because companies want to go across GEOs. We vertically integrated. And the last thing we did, we threw technology at our business. We can't run like a law firm structure.

We can't have five, six partners, quote, looking for deals, same way the lawyers do. Technology in every aspect of the business to help us look, to help companies assess, not just for us, but for our founders. And we know we have to be at tech companies. And that is the transformation that we've done over the last three, four years. All of it to look for, win, and then help.

We can't have five, six partners, quote, looking for deals, same way the lawyers do. Technology in every aspect of the business to help us look, to help companies assess, not just for us, but for our founders. And we know we have to be at tech companies. And that is the transformation that we've done over the last three, four years. All of it to look for, win, and then help.

Let me explain. One, you want to be competitive. You want to pay well. You want to get the best people. The moment you build enterprise value, what you're really asking, you're not asking about enterprise value. What you're asking is to monetize the enterprise value. That's what you really are asking. Boy, now we can sell Sequoia.

Let me explain. One, you want to be competitive. You want to pay well. You want to get the best people. The moment you build enterprise value, what you're really asking, you're not asking about enterprise value. What you're asking is to monetize the enterprise value. That's what you really are asking. Boy, now we can sell Sequoia.

Selling a piece of that firm means that the people in the building today are getting richer, but the pie to be shared for the next generation is smaller. We looked around, Mike Mertz and I in early 2000, we looked around and we wanted to see what the enduring firms did and how they worked it. And our favorite was the Capital Group. They managed a trillion dollars, public vehicles.

Selling a piece of that firm means that the people in the building today are getting richer, but the pie to be shared for the next generation is smaller. We looked around, Mike Mertz and I in early 2000, we looked around and we wanted to see what the enduring firms did and how they worked it. And our favorite was the Capital Group. They managed a trillion dollars, public vehicles.

I think the founders are 1%. And they have a way to have the people in the building enjoy, maybe have a little tail on the way out. But the bulk of the ownership, the money that returns is the people that are working in the next generation. Sequoia was given to us by Don Valentine. Given. I want to use the word given. Mike and I didn't write a check to Don Valentine. Zero.

I think the founders are 1%. And they have a way to have the people in the building enjoy, maybe have a little tail on the way out. But the bulk of the ownership, the money that returns is the people that are working in the next generation. Sequoia was given to us by Don Valentine. Given. I want to use the word given. Mike and I didn't write a check to Don Valentine. Zero.

We weren't at the founders. Our job is really to make it a better place. How do you do that? By being helpful to founders, by understanding founders at first. our limited partners, which are mostly nonprofits. Second, our clients, 70% are mostly charities. I want to make sure you know that.

We weren't at the founders. Our job is really to make it a better place. How do you do that? By being helpful to founders, by understanding founders at first. our limited partners, which are mostly nonprofits. Second, our clients, 70% are mostly charities. I want to make sure you know that.

And we are thirds, not because we're Boy Scouts, because we know if we do right by founders, right by clients, of course, we'll do right by ourselves. But we can't put ourselves first. and leave it a better place for the next generation. So I created a constitution with Mike Moritz that said I had to leave at 65 on my 60th birthday. I left. I'm not a partner in a new fund.

And we are thirds, not because we're Boy Scouts, because we know if we do right by founders, right by clients, of course, we'll do right by ourselves. But we can't put ourselves first. and leave it a better place for the next generation. So I created a constitution with Mike Moritz that said I had to leave at 65 on my 60th birthday. I left. I'm not a partner in a new fund.