Doug Leone, former head of Sequoia, shares his experiences in leading the firm's expansion. He discusses go-to-market motions, advice for investors, and the importance of keeping things simple and clear. Other topics include the evolution of the venture capital industry, common failure modes of investors, and acts of kindness and support.

Doug Leone, venture capitalist, discusses his tough start at Sequoia, the technicalities of great go-to-market motions, and shares advice for other investors in the industry. He emphasizes the importance of keeping things simple and clear. Topics also include the evolution of venture, scarcity of talented founders, surviving high school, common failure modes of investors, building competitive advantage, navigating the dot-com bubble burst, and acts of kindness and gratitude.

The wait is over. Acquired returns with a very special Part II of the Sequoia Capital story, joined by the very best person in the world to help us tell it - Doug Leone. Since 1996, Doug has served as Sequoia’s Global Managing Partner, in charge of overseeing the firm’s incredible expansion from a single, $150m early-stage fund focused on Northern California to the multi-billion dollar global powerhouse it is today. Doug is incredibly candid and insightful about all that has gone into building the modern Sequoia: from winning Google and missing Facebook, to the enormous (and enormously successful) bet on decentralized expansion in China and India, to the firm’s “proudest moment” at the depth of the dot com bust. This episode is an absolute must-listen for anyone in the tech, startup and venture ecosystems today. Thank you to Doug and all of the Sequoia team for joining us to make it happen!Sponsors:Anrok: https://bit.ly/anrokacquiredWorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig24More Acquired!:Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLCNote:You can listen to Part I of our Sequoia story, which dives deep into the history and background of the firm, here: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/sequoia-capital-part-1Sources: https://www.brunswickgroup.com/sequoia-capital-doug-leone-silicon-valley-i11786/https://www.sequoiacap.com/people/doug-leone/ https://www.sequoiacap.com/newsletter/2018-06-20-doug-leonehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Er4QcNdjVUhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-leone-a2714/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cl8X02Xd1Ihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrJgwKiEpaI

In this captivating discussion, legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski shares his insights on humility and leadership, reflecting on his career at Duke University. NFL's Andy Reid shares anecdotes from his time with the Kansas City Chiefs, emphasizing authenticity and team dynamics. Investor Doug Leone highlights the vital importance of mentorship and personal growth. Together, they explore the delicate balance between seriousness and silliness in coaching, illustrating how effective leadership shapes both players and teams to achieve greatness.

David Schneider, a General Partner at Coatue and a key figure in scaling ServiceNow, shares invaluable insights from his journey. He discusses the secrets behind growing ServiceNow to $5 billion in ARR and the common reasons companies plateau. The conversation also covers the transition from operator to VC, the challenges faced, and advice for founders on navigating board dynamics. The discussion critiques 'seagull VCs' and emphasizes the need for constructive feedback in leadership, making it a treasure trove of wisdom for entrepreneurs and investors alike.

In this engaging discussion, David Vélez, the Founder and CEO of Nubank, shares his unique journey from Colombia to revolutionizing Brazil's banking system. Alongside co-founder Cristina Junqueira and Sequoia Capital's Doug Leone, they detail their battle against a banking oligopoly that imposed high fees on customers. Their story of resilience and innovation reveals how Nubank transformed the financial landscape with a strong focus on ethics and customer care, achieving over 100 million users and marking a significant milestone in fintech.

Doug Leone, Bill Ackman, Bill Gurley, and Orlando Bravo discuss the significance of price in investing and venture capital, emphasizing the importance of price discipline and when to pay up versus when to stay disciplined. They explore the risks and expectations associated with different investment sizes and the impact of price on investment decisions. The speakers also discuss their firm's approach to evaluating price and price sensitivity in investments, prioritizing assessing the company, market, and founder before focusing on valuation. They share insights on AI tools and introduce Digis, an AI accounting services company.

"Sequoia Capital is the greatest venture capital firm of all time. It's indisputable." - Jason  Jason chats with Sequoia's Doug Leone, a leader who shepherded the firm for four decades. They discuss great founders, governance, Sequoia's global expansion, mentoring the next generation of investors and more. (00:00) Jason intros today’s legendary interview w/ Doug Leone of Sequoia Capital (01:14) When Doug Leone got his start (11:00) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/TWIST (12:23) The impact selling secondary shares has on founders (15:43) “The founder’s job is to make the receptionist rich” (21:14) First Republic Bank - Discover what a long-term financial relationship can do for you. Visit https://firstrepublic.com/startup today to learn more. (22:15) Mentoring the next generation of investors (30:51) Linode - Apply to their Rise program for founder-led, early-stage startups and get 3 years of discounts at https://linode.com/twist. (31:58) Sometimes incredible companies make the founder (34:07) The greatest founders Doug has worked with (46:30) Providing companies with a running start, but not doing too much (53:10) Investing in China (57:15) Entrepreneurship in Europe (01:11:06) “Hope is not a plan. Let’s make a plan. Check out Sequoia: https://www.sequoiacap.com FOLLOW Doug Leone: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-leone-a2714/ FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Harry Stebbings, Founder of 20VC, discusses various topics including the changing landscape of seed pricing, the best place to invest today, reshaping growth founders' expectations, and the future of M&A and IPO. Guests like Doug Leone, Bill Gurley, Marc Benioff, and Daniel Ek share their insights on LP investments, series A/B markets, and growth deals. The podcast also covers the importance of building trusted relationships with LPs, AI's impact on revenue and IPO markets, and features ad/sponsor segments.

Doug Leone is the Global Managing Partner @ Sequoia Capital, one of the world’s most renowned and successful venture firms with a portfolio including the likes of Google, Airbnb, Whatsapp, Stripe, Zoom and many more. As for Doug, he joined Sequoia over 33 years ago and has led investments in Nubank, Meraki, ServiceNow and TradeRepublic to name a few. In Today’s Episode with Doug Leone You Will Learn: 1.) How a 5PM Monday meeting with Don Valentine led to Doug joining Sequoia over 33 years ago? What did Don ask Doug in the meeting? What does Doug believe led Don to offer him his first role at Sequoia? 2.) The Leader: How did Doug change when he made the transition from a "COO" role to more of a "CEO" role with Sequoia? Doug has previously said, "Sequoia is a team, not a family". What does he mean by this? How do Doug and Sequoia do to give the team an unwavering sense of duty to the Sequoia brand? What does Doug believe Sequoia have done so well to allow them to move seamlessly from generation to generation? 3.) The Investor: Doug's first 3 investments all went on to successful IPOs, how did this impact his mindset at the time? What does Doug mean when he discusses "the abyss" he went through post this time? How does Doug advise others going through the abyss? What are the signs certain people will make it through vs not? 4.) The Landscape Today: How does Doug think about and react to newer entrants like Tiger and Softbank? How does Doug think about and assess his own price sensitivity today? How does Doug determine when to be disciplined vs when to pay up? Through what lens does Doug assess the compression of deployment cycles in venture today? Should we "play the game on the field"? 5.) The Expansion: In 2005, Sequoia expanded to China. Why was this the right time? What was the decision-making process for the Sequoia China team? Why does Doug believe, "when you lose pre-seed, you become private equity"? How does Doug react to the notion that success in venture is cyclical and compounds? Item’s Mentioned In Today’s Episode with Doug Leone Doug’s Favourite Book: The Fountainhead: Ayn Rand, Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder