20VC: Inside Sequoia's Investment Committee: Lessons from Don Valentine, Doug Leone and Alfred Lin | How the SpaceX and Citadel Deals Went Down | What Sequoia Specifically Looks for in Founders with Julien Bek

**Julien Bek** (0:00)
Everyone thinks that we're just waiting for the phone to ring, for the next anthropic to call us to invest. That's completely false. Everyone at Sequoia is a hunter. If you look at founders you like versus founders who make money as a two-by-two matrix, your job is to figure out in which part of the quadrant we make money. The best investments in all the funds are always the companies where the sponsor had the highest conviction. We are only as good as our next investment. That's not an easy job. If you want an easy job, you go do something else. Credits to Shaun when he brought in the SpaceX investment. We vote on companies. I think someone voted a one. I think right now, if you're going to invest in new Neolab, you're basically investing in the Quora, in the stumble upon when Facebook X came about.

**Harry Stebbings** (0:46)
This is TwentyVC with me, Harry Stebbings. Now, I am so excited for the show today because I get to welcome one of my oldest friends to the show. Yeah, he's a partner at Sequoia, which just raised $10 billion in new capital to bet on the next generation of winners in the AI wave. He's also an incredible human being. You'll hear more about why in the show.
But this episode is incredible because it is a behind the scenes glimpse into what makes Sequoia so special, how they find great companies, how they win them, how they pick them. It is a incredible view into what makes the great so good. This is Sequoia like you've never seen Sequoia before, and it was again one of the most special interviews for me, to be able to sit down with one of my oldest friends. But before we dive into the show today, founders face a different set of challenges at every stage of growth. For Sid Shait, co-founder and CEO of D-Matrix, JP Morgan delivered the guidance and expertise to help navigate what came next. He credits JP Morgan's high touch approach with supporting D-Matrix as it grew and expanded internationally. Whether you're in the early days or expanding into new markets, JP Morgan helps startups navigate complexity with real confidence, offering personalized guidance and deep sector expertise. Find out how JP Morgan helps founders at jpmorgan.com/growwithoutlimits.
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**Julien Bek** (4:04)
Almost ten years, yeah. You were young back then, and now we're getting, like, aging. I remember.

**Harry Stebbings** (4:10)
Yeah, you were at Accel, and you were over there, very nice officers. And I was just joined Atomico, I think. And we were both, like, very young. We were like, wow, it worked.
But I want to start, because I think a lot of people will hear you now and think, wow, Sequoia partner and wow. But there's something in particular about the relationship that you have with your parents and how you look after your father, which I think is an embodiment of what a great human you are. So can you just tell me a little bit about that before we dive into all the intellectual nerdy shit? Because I want people to know you a little bit first.