Luciana Lixandru is a Partner @ Sequoia, one of the world’s most renowned and successful venture firms with Sequoia-backed companies accounting for more than 20% of NASDAQ's total value. As for Luciana, at Sequoia she has led investments in the likes of PennyLane, Xentral, Veed and Ledgy to name a few. Prior to joining Sequoia in 2020, Luciana was a Partner @ Accel where she made investments in Hopin, Miro, UiPath, Tessian and Deliveroo. As a result of such investing success, Luciana was #2 on the Midas List in 2021.

In Today’s Episode with Luciana Lixandru You Will Learn:

1.) Origins:

How did Luciana make her way from a small town in Romania to being Partner @ Sequoia?
What were the 1-2 crucible moments in her life that changed the course of her life?

2.) Luciana: The Investor

How has Luciana's investing style changed and developed over the years?
How does Luciana reflect on her own relationship to price? What misses caused these changes?
Hopin, Miro, Deliveroo, UiPath, how did having such winners so early impact Luciana's investing mindset?
What would Luciana say is her biggest insecurity today? What drives this?

3.) Sequoia: The Team

What are Luciana's biggest takeaways from working with Doug Leone, Alfren Lin, Roelof Botha and Pat Grady?
What does the decision-making process look like for new deals within Sequoia?
How does the Sequoia partnership create an environment of safety where everyone can discuss and debate freely?
How does Luciana approach training and mentorship? What works and what does not?

4.) Sequoia in Europe + Sequoia's Arc:

What is Arc? Why was now the right time for Sequoia to do it?
What is the structure for the program?
How many startups are part of it? Who is able to apply?
How much capital do the startups receive? What else do they receive in mentoring etc?
In 5 years time, what would success look like for Luciana with Arc?

Item’s Mentioned In Today’s Episode with Luciana Lixandru

Luciana’s Favourite Book: The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

The Great Exchange