Doug Leone

I don't mean it that way. I mean coach as not being in the field on a day-to-day basis. It's not a hierarchy of knowledge, okay? Whether you want to be on the sidelines, maybe it's a better way to say it. You want to be on the field or be in the sidelines. And that's a personal choice. There are people that are inherent builders. Elon Musk, he's a builder.

I don't mean it that way. I mean coach as not being in the field on a day-to-day basis. It's not a hierarchy of knowledge, okay? Whether you want to be on the sidelines, maybe it's a better way to say it. You want to be on the field or be in the sidelines. And that's a personal choice. There are people that are inherent builders. Elon Musk, he's a builder.

And there's people that just love to help companies go to market. Look, my knowledge has been the go-to-market side. I love helping founders figure out how to sell something from the customer standpoint and then scale that sales force. Maximum speed. That's my passion. So I'd be a lousy type of builder. So it's not an easy one or the other. What you shouldn't do and say, there's money in venture.

And there's people that just love to help companies go to market. Look, my knowledge has been the go-to-market side. I love helping founders figure out how to sell something from the customer standpoint and then scale that sales force. Maximum speed. That's my passion. So I'd be a lousy type of builder. So it's not an easy one or the other. What you shouldn't do and say, there's money in venture.

I want a cushy life. I want to go into venture. That would be the wrong choice, both in 1999 and in 2023.

I want a cushy life. I want to go into venture. That would be the wrong choice, both in 1999 and in 2023.

So I've actually, I've given a name for this cycle called the merchandising cycle. And I explain this to founders. It starts with product management. What exactly are we building? If truth be known, it starts with vision. But if the vision's wrong, we're all going home. Assuming we're someplace in a ballpark. It starts with product management. What are we building?

So I've actually, I've given a name for this cycle called the merchandising cycle. And I explain this to founders. It starts with product management. What exactly are we building? If truth be known, it starts with vision. But if the vision's wrong, we're all going home. Assuming we're someplace in a ballpark. It starts with product management. What are we building?

To product marketing, how do we position it? How do we tell the story? How do we have the three words for describing what we do? How do we have the 30 seconds, two minutes? And everybody can do the 10 minutes. Very few people can do the three words. And then how do we do the demand, Jen? How do we do the sales? And wherever that cycle is broken, it looks like a bad salesperson.

To product marketing, how do we position it? How do we tell the story? How do we have the three words for describing what we do? How do we have the 30 seconds, two minutes? And everybody can do the 10 minutes. Very few people can do the three words. And then how do we do the demand, Jen? How do we do the sales? And wherever that cycle is broken, it looks like a bad salesperson.

This guy can't sell. Actually, the truth of the matter is, if you've got product market feed, even shitty salespeople can sell. When we first invested in ServiceNow, we had the B team prior to Frank Slootman coming in, in sales, and they were selling like crazy. So that was my lesson. And so for me as a board member, I have to debug the merchandising cycle. Product can't sell. Why?

This guy can't sell. Actually, the truth of the matter is, if you've got product market feed, even shitty salespeople can sell. When we first invested in ServiceNow, we had the B team prior to Frank Slootman coming in, in sales, and they were selling like crazy. So that was my lesson. And so for me as a board member, I have to debug the merchandising cycle. Product can't sell. Why?

There's not enough leads. Oh, well, I know to fix that. Why don't we get some more BDRs? Then you can talk to the BDR guys. Here, you can have five BDRs. Well, then they start fessing up. Well, you know, it's not really a BDR headcount. It's that the message isn't playing right. Aha, well, I knew that, but it's nice to admit it. Let's go back to product marketing. What's the message?

There's not enough leads. Oh, well, I know to fix that. Why don't we get some more BDRs? Then you can talk to the BDR guys. Here, you can have five BDRs. Well, then they start fessing up. Well, you know, it's not really a BDR headcount. It's that the message isn't playing right. Aha, well, I knew that, but it's nice to admit it. Let's go back to product marketing. What's the message?

Is that the right message? Is that the wrong message? And that's based on the product we're building. This is product management. And so I worked very hard at debugging

Is that the right message? Is that the wrong message? And that's based on the product we're building. This is product management. And so I worked very hard at debugging

upstream this merchandising cycle so we can figure out where the real problems are and as i think about it take these rocks out of the river so that damn water can flow as fast as possible and once you do that and once you know that two or three sales reps can sell something and you have your first four or five sales that don't include the seal those are telltale sign that you can start ramping and so that's what we do that's what i do as a board member

upstream this merchandising cycle so we can figure out where the real problems are and as i think about it take these rocks out of the river so that damn water can flow as fast as possible and once you do that and once you know that two or three sales reps can sell something and you have your first four or five sales that don't include the seal those are telltale sign that you can start ramping and so that's what we do that's what i do as a board member

The thing I can't do is the black magic. If you don't have the right vision, if you are not close to product market fit, I will tell you, Doug Leone or any other people in venture are not going to help you. Black magic is reserved for founders. Everything else is mere mortal stuff. That's what we can do. And we're probably the very best in the world at Sequoia in doing that.

The thing I can't do is the black magic. If you don't have the right vision, if you are not close to product market fit, I will tell you, Doug Leone or any other people in venture are not going to help you. Black magic is reserved for founders. Everything else is mere mortal stuff. That's what we can do. And we're probably the very best in the world at Sequoia in doing that.