E12: An Inside Look Into Sequoia's Strategy & Operations, with Alfred Lin

Erik is joined by Alfred Lin, partner at Sequoia Capital for over 13 years, and investor in Airbnb, Doordash, Houzz, and more legendary Silicon Valley companies. We dive into the unique ways which Sequoia operates as a firm in this episode: why they don't actually track A-U-M, why they launched the Sequoia Capital Fund, the decision-making behind creating Sequoia Arc, and more. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check out: https://synaptic.com/turpentine

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X / TWITTER:

@Alfred_Lin (Alfred)

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

@sequoia (Sequoia)

@TurpentineVC

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Episode preview

(01:10) How Sequoia does generational transitions

(05:31) Sequoia's firm structure and evolution

(11:01) Sponsor: Synaptic

(11:52) On Sequoia Arc and competing against YC

(15:01) On metrics and leading indicators

(18:19) How to add the most value to founders

(23:33) Alfred on the landscape of venture in 2030

(25:39) What makes a Sequoia partner great?

(28:40) Sponsor: Oracle Clound Infrastructure

(33:02) On incubations

(34:53) On macro

(38:56) Alfred's thoughts on AI

(43:33) Leadership and how to show up for founders

(49:42) Alfredisms: the time span of discretion and the roles of a founder

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