Today is a sad day! The world lost a pioneer of company culture, the shoe industry, Downtown LV, web advertising, and also a gentle soul who gave a part of himself to countless people. We'll remember Tony for that and the happiness he brought to so many people. RIP Tony Hsieh.

I am deeply honored, humbled, and will have big shoes to fill. @roelofbotha changed my life. He believed in me, brought me to Sequoia, and taught me how to grow from a builder into an investor. He’s demanding and deeply caring — the rare kind of friend, mentor, partner who pushes you and stands with you through every storm.

Thanks @Forbes for publishing my final letter to Tony Hsieh. forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/…

Today’s swift and unanimous verdict confirms what we already knew: that SBF misled and deceived so many, from customers and employees to business partners and investors, including myself and Sequoia.

1/ Huge congrats to the @DoorDash team on today’s IPO! As the team celebrates today's milestone, I thought it would be fun to take a walk down memory lane. Here’s a snapshot of the internal memo I published on DoorDash in 2014, just before our Series A partnership.

Your contributions at @OpenAI forever changed the way we work and live. They are truly legendary for humanity. Look forward to the next world-changing companies that @sama and @gdb build.

What seeds should I plant today? My partner @roelofbotha sent this quote around @sequoia: "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

I started writing about company-building frameworks and principles about 18 months ago to share with Team @Sequoia. I'm now sharing them more widely in the hope that they provide you with the provocation to get better at getting better. Learn more at outlierspath.com

1/ There are many paths to @Sequoia. For 50+ years, we've met outlier founders in different ways. Here are some of our favorite stories.

Being with the NYC startup community in our new office this week was epic. As a New Yorker, I couldn’t be more excited that @Sequoia has a home here.

Today, we're launching @Sequoia's latest seed and venture funds to partner with outlier founders at the start of their journey. There's never been a more exciting time to be a founder. Nearly every industry will be disrupted by AI. So far, the age of AI has brought intelligence and automation to many of our most routine tasks. But what excites me most are the new creative possibilities ahead: innovative business processes, entirely new consumer experiences, and novel ways to play and interact with technology. I’m looking forward to magical, creative, and truly transformative experiences that we’ve never seen before. History shows us that the biggest technology waves—internet, mobile, and cloud—created entirely new business models. AI will be no different. The most disruptive business models are still waiting to be unveiled, and we're excited to back the founders who will build them.

You know @sama was a beloved CEO when the outpouring of support is undeniable.

The latest on Outlier's Path - Our Sequoia -- This is Our Sequoia. It has always been Our Sequoia. It was never Don’s Sequoia, nor Michael’s, Doug’s, Jim’s, or Roelof’s. From the very beginning—when Don chose to build a partnership and name it after the longest-living tree on Earth—Sequoia was meant to endure not through individuals, but through us—the collective strength, integrity, and vision of the partnership. And just as it was not theirs alone, it will not be Pat and Alfred’s Sequoia. It will always be Our Sequoia. We are responsible for something enduring—privileged to stand on the foundation built by those who came before us, and responsible for making it stronger for those who will come after. Together, we have the opportunity to do our life’s work, to make a dent in the universe, to leave our fingerprints on the partnership, and to shape Sequoia into the place we want it to be for the future. Principles guide us—anchored in purpose and mission. Beyond that, we want to trust and empower one another. Our purpose and mission remain to help the daring build legendary companies. Our guiding principles are: * Founders > LPs > Sequoia > Team > Self * We’re only as good as our next investment * Always do the right thing—and do it the right way * When we fall short (because we are all human), apologize, fix it, and move on * Influence comes from expertise and reason, not from hierarchy or tenure If you see something that needs to change, speak up. Lead the change. Sequoia thrives when every voice, every insight, and every act of courage helps us grow stronger together. Some people have asked if we will continue to make new investments and lead the investment teams. The answer is an unequivocal yes. We will source and lead new investments and will remain co-leads of the Early and Growth teams. Externally, we will all be referred to simply as Partners. Although everyone may know that we are Sequoia’s stewards due to last week’s news cycle, our LinkedIn profiles and external bios will still list us as Partners of Sequoia. This is not just a partnership—it is a living, breathing legacy. It is Our Sequoia. Always has been. Always will be. Pat and Alfred, on behalf of Our Sequoia

Have been wearing my @sequoia luck socks all week. My big boss (wife) suggested that I might want to change them, but my little boss (10 year old) asked why not buy more pairs of them if they are lucky?!?

Happy Birthday, #tonyhsieh! Your friends are remembering you today, celebrating your life, and reminiscing about the powerful impact you had on them. A day down memory lane that mixed laughter, tears, and joy. Happy 47th! vimeo.com/489921476

1/6 The earliest days of a company compound. That’s why we at @Sequoia go all in at the pre-seed and seed. What does that look like?

Over the last few days, the world witnessed what makes @sama and @gdb outlier founders. We’ve been inspired by their unwavering optimism and commitment to their mission & impact. We’re excited to see what the brilliant @OpenAI team builds next. We are proud to be their partners.

Amazing Day for all stakeholders of @Airbnb. Started 2020 as the IPO candidate of the year, paused, stared down the abyss of a global pandemic, pivoted, accelerated out of the depths, and is today 2020's IPO of the Year!

Orange sky raining ash...is it day or night...are we on mars? SF on 09/09 at 09:09 am.

Congratulations on 15 years! Team @Sequoia is incredibly proud to have been your partner since your seed round, and we look forward to seeing what the next 15 years hold for @Airbnb.

Be great..seek truth. ”Average players want to be left alone. Good players want to be coached. Great players want to be told the truth." - Nick Saban, 7-time National Champion, Head Football Coach at Alabama (via @GuptaRK22)

1/ When you have clarity of thought, you can have conviction in non-obvious strategies. This is @t_xu’s superpower. Check out these slides from the @DoorDash Series A pitch deck. 🧵 👇

“There’s been such a focus on victim ideology for so long and such a…limited focus on actually reading texts. When these university presidents want to say these issues are too complex…I mean, we have…raped girls, stolen, kidnapped grandmas, we have a massacre at a concert, we have intentionally targeted schools and babies,” Sasse said. “This isn’t morally complex. It’s easy to condemn evil as evil.”

1/ Applications are open for the latest @Sequoia Arc America cohort. People often ask us what areas we're most interested in. The honest answer is that there isn't one. 🧵 👇

The saddest part is @chesaboudin won’t even answer the hard questions at his own press conference and relied on his communications handlers to deflect. I still live in SF and have fled for Los Angeles, Miami, or NYC (where I grew up), but it is time to recall @chesaboudin

Immediately after FTX collapsed, we extensively reviewed our due diligence process and evaluated our 18-month working relationship with SBF. We concluded that we had been deliberately misled and lied to.

1/ We’re excited to open applications for a new cohort of @Sequoia’s company-building immersion, Arc. If you’re a pre-seed or seed founder from the Americas or UK/Europe and are interested in joining the Sequoia family, here’s some of what we look for in applications. 👇

At @sequoia, we love investing in daring underdogs.

1/ We’ve been busy reviewing @Sequoia Arc applications and are inspired by the ideas shared and the promising future they reflect. If you’re a founder and haven’t yet applied, there’s still time! The deadline for applications is Sunday, February 5th at 11:59PM PT. 🧵👇

Flashback to meeting @bchesky, @jgebbia & @nathanblec, they simply told a story of a world that is very different than what existed. What they wanted was a "better way to travel" & where you "belong anywhere." Thank you for allowing @sequoia to embrace your adventure since 2009!

Take note, this is extraordinary leadership! Thank you @MayorNYC @ericadamsfornyc Proud to be from NYC. "We are not alright…Your fight is our fight. Right here in New York, we have the largest Jewish population outside of Israel. This is the place that our voices must raise and cast throughout the entire country." “Not only am I the Chief Executive of the City, but I am your brother…Your fight is my fight…You marched with us with Dr. King. You stood with us in all the fights we had, and I’m saying we’re going to stand with you and stay united together, and we don’t have to be alright. We should be angry of what we saw. Thank you, Israel!”

.@bchesky: Love creates growth, not the other way around. Create a product people love so much they can’t help but tell everyone about it.

Happy Anniversary in Miami @rabois. This doesn’t have to be your strategy but some of us believe quality >> quantity.

This works in tandem with our mission to help daring founders from idea to IPO and beyond.

Even after a decade, I continue to learn from @airbnb. Listen to @jgebbia today: "Some will love your idea. Some won’t. Who cares? Move on...The gift of the entrepreneur is the ability to take rejection and turn it into an invitation." Thank you @airbnb for inviting @sequoia!

Once in a while, a team comes along changing the way companies build and find their first customers. @PrologueXYZ is one such example. We are proud to be partners! Read about how they’re bringing distribution and world-class advisors to startups: seq.vc/prologue

I am horrified by the atrocities occurring in Israel and the surrounding region. Slaughtering innocent civilians is never the answer. My heart goes out to those affected, and I pray for peace.

In the last year, we have had to remain quiet while the prosecution built its case and through the trial period. We are pleased that the trial is over.

.@FTX_Official is the high-quality, global crypto exchange the world needs, and it has the potential to become the leading financial exchange for all types of assets. We @sequoia are honored to partner with @SBF_Alameda and the team on this journey.

“There has to be consequences…there is a lack of consequences…officers only make arrests in fewer than 2% of all car break-ins throughout the city [of San Francisco].” Complete failure of SF criminal justice system & @chesaboudin

Congrats to @Airbnb for all that you’ve accomplished in your first decade. We @sequoia are so very proud to be your business partners since your seed round. May your second decade be even more amazing than your first.

Founders sometimes tell us they’re afraid of signaling risk if they partner with Sequoia too early, but we’ve found the opposite to be true. There is actually a signaling advantage! Companies who partner with Sequoia at the seed are 4x more likely to raise a Series A.

Both founders (@luanalopeslara and @mansourtarek_) of @kalshi are fantastic and are building a generational company!

.@Kalshi is on one of the most impressive trajectories we have ever seen @sequoia. @mansourtarek_ & @luanalopeslara have assembled a team that uniquely blends Silicon Valley and Wall Street talent with the ambition and execution to fundamentally transform financial markets.

A decade ago, Robinhood pioneered commission-free trading and took stock ownership mainstream. A year ago, Kalshi defined a new asset class and brought prediction markets to critical mass. Today, we at Sequoia are proud to see these two category-defining companies partner to develop the next frontier of financial markets.

Wonderful wisdom from Belinda Johnson @airbnb: Instead of starting with the problem, start from the outcome you want and work backward. Envision what you want the world to look like and then figure out how to get there. [via @sequoia's newsletter] sequoiacap.com/newsletter/20…

In 2020, @mansourtarek_ and @luanalopeslara dazzled us at @sequoia with a bold vision: make prediction markets federally compliant and mainstream. Today, @Kalshi is available in 140+ countries and is one of the fastest-growing companies in the world. Congrats to Team Kalshi. Proud to be on this journey with you from Series A to Series D and beyond. Let's go!

“Creativity takes courage. ” ― Henri Matisse

After hearing a number of positive reports, I took 3 @waymo rides this weekend in SF, including one at night in the rain. The consumer product experience is magical where I can have a private conversation or jam to my music while enjoying a smooth ride.

Congratulations to Team @DoorDash. Today is a testament to your differentiated strategy and operating at the lowest levels of details at the start and $DASH-ed past all your competitors. @sequoia and I are very fortunate to be part of your journey and look forward to what's next!

Nizeyimana of @zipline derives his drive from the sheer improbability of his survival: “If I got another chance...what should I use the second chance for? Serving the community and making an impact on other people’s lives is what makes sense for me.” seq.vc/ziplinef6

Wished they taught me this stuff when I was in school. Just read this to my son over dinner.

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction.” ― E. F. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful

I took a break from Outlier's Path (outlierspath.com), but I am back at it. I'll be sharing new posts on X, plus revisiting some of my old ones. The latest: -- The Human Condition -- For the past three months, I've stepped away from my weekly ritual of writing before the start of the week. In that brief pause, the world of technology seemed to move at warp speed. We often say we live in an age of accelerating change. What we speak about today wasn't even in our conversations three months ago. Artificial intelligence has brought about a shift as profound as the arrival of the internet. Many of us have been heads-down—learning, reassessing, recruiting, building, investing—driven by excitement and the quiet fear of being left behind. Meanwhile, life carried on with its steady rhythm. Summer turned to fall, and a new school year began. My son turned fifteen, my brother fifty, and I earned another ring around the Sequoia tree. The days quickened as the seasons changed, yet much remained familiar: the joy (and chaos) of first-day school drop-offs, the birthday toasts and stories that grow taller with age, and the laughter of friends and family who forgive our rambling speeches simply because they love us. These contrasts—between relentless transformation and timeless relevance—offer perspective. Despite all the foundational shifts we’ve experienced, much of life remains unchanged. In 1997, I left a Ph.D. program at Stanford because the internet was happening, and I didn't want to miss it. I even declared that Amazon would one day kill Walmart. Twenty-eight years later, the story is far more nuanced. Retail has evolved, as it always does, through the creative reinvention and destruction of both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar companies. Amazon became a better investment, but Walmart's stock has multiplied twentyfold, and e-commerce still represents only about thirty percent of US retail. The future rarely replaces the past; more often, it builds beside it. Recently, Rebecca, Atticus, and I went to see Les Misérables when it toured through San Francisco. It was Atticus’ first time. Rebecca and I had both first seen it when we were his age, and he joked that he'd have to carry on the tradition. Some stories, it seems, resist the erosion of time. Les Misérables was published in 1862, first sung in Paris in 1980, and has been running continuously in London's West End since 1985. Perhaps it endures because it tells the timeless truths of the human condition: cruelty and compassion, injustice and mercy, love and redemption. Technology changes everything except what it means to be human. Over these past months, as we've wrestled with building enduring products and companies amid tectonic change, I've been reminded that progress and permanence need not be opposites. Those who deny change are left behind; those who chase novelty for its own sake build what quickly fades. To endure, we must root innovation in something timeless. There is nothing more timeless, nor more worth building for, than the human condition...Until AI learns to replace and rid us.

We are proud to partner with @citsecurities alongside @paradigm to further Citadel Securities’ mission to solve some of the most complex and worthwhile market challenges of our time. citadelsecurities.com/news/c…

Congrats @t_xu & the @DoorDash team on the incredible growth achieved thus far. Looking forward to continuing the journey together! seq.vc/648a4

Prediction markets have gone mainstream and Kalshi is part of pop culture.

Local restaurants are the fabric of our communities and employ over 15M people across the country. Let's continue to support restaurants who are #OpenForDelivery, like one my favorites, Pizzeria Delfina: openfordelivery.com/

🧵 This week @Sequoia launched our 5th seed fund to support the next gen of early-stage founders & opened applications for our seed-stage catalyst, Arc. There are incredible opportunities for innovation in so many sectors, but there's one I'm particularly excited about. 🧵 👇

“Every company will have some kind of AI angle around it, and it won’t be seen as an AI company,” Zhan said. “It will be seen as a company solving a particular domain or problem space that they’re focused on, with AI as an accelerator.”

.@jaltma, nice initial list. The right mindset matters more than any skill, as skills may go in and out of style. The right mindset equips you to learn, unlearn, and adapt—making it far more valuable than any skill set.

For high-growth startups, every minute shaved off contract negotiations = faster revenue. @crosbylegal combines AI’s speed & intelligence with the safety of lawyers to review contracts in under an hour. Proud to partner with @Ryanjdaniels & @jsarihan sequoiacap.com/article/partn…

As a mother of two, @EllenJDaSilva understands firsthand what’s broken about health care, especially pediatrics. She, @MatthewEdanWoo & the @JoinSummer team are on a mission to fix it. fortune.com/2022/07/25/exclu…

Hit Me with Your Best Shot! open.spotify.com/playlist/37…

Goodbye 2020. Happy New Year. Best wishes for 2021.

Saturday Reflections: If you want to be the best, work with demanding and supportive people. "Far from being contradictory, being demanding and supportive are inextricably linked. It’s the way you are when you believe in someone more than they believe in themselves." @GuptaRK22

.@roelofbotha to founders at Base Camp: "No one but you is an authority on your potential. Don't relent."

“Chance favors the prepared mind.” ― Louis Pasteur

Block party for the Warriors game on a perfect Friday evening. #NBAFinals #SF

OH @ hotel bar: "just met a company that is going to launch a token and then an exchange and then a platform for frictionless payment." I thought I left the Bay Area for a reason, and seriously, how many freaking useless buzzwords can you drop in one sentence. #ridiculous

Congrats, @michelle_fradin, on your next adventure. @sama and @OpenAI team, you are fortunate to have her! Good luck fulfilling your inspiring mission.

Today marks a step forward in the future of retail: @faire_wholesale and @Shopify announced a global partnership that unlocks opportunities for small business growth on a much larger scale. Learn more here: modernretail.co/technology/s…

Thoughts of a math nerd: @apartovi means the probability @sama returns to @openai as CEO is 88% (from screenshot). To convert from a probability to odds, divide the probability by one minus that probability. Therefore, the odds are 7.3:1. You can indeed buy insurance on @kalshi.

Thrilled for the debut of #BoardXcelerate, a program launching today from @AllRaise that helps private companies build boards that represent the world around us – in under 90 days. We @Sequoia are proud to be a founding partner. allraise.org/boardxcelerate

I am excited to join today's @tbpn show shortly.

Over 37,000 small businesses and their employees have been impacted by the rapid decline of SVB. Founders and CEOs are urging action. ycombinator.com/blog/urgent-…

Most consumers now ask AI to search for them, and marketers need content optimized for this new reality. @TryProfound is leading the way. We are proud to partner with @TheJamesCad & @DBabbs and lead their Series B as they rewrite the marketing playbook and create a new category. sequoiacap.com/article/partn…

.@mwseibel - you've had an incredible impact on countless founders and helped so many companies get started. Thank you for everything you've done for the startup ecosystem. Excited to see what you do next.

.@TrueworkHQ is building the internet’s new identity layer that will bring security + speed to many different transactions. We @sequoia are excited to partner with @SandlerRyan @ewinchell07 @victor_kabdebon & the Truework team. forbes.com/sites/monicamelto…

If you want to build an enduring company, take these words to heart: "We built a dream together. And now, after all of these years, we still continue to dream." Many thanks to @jgebbia @nathanblec @bchesky @Airbnb for the reminder.

If you solve hard problems nobody else can solve and are patient, you can build a tremendous company over time. Hear how Jensen Huang took @nvidia from pioneering GPUs to powering the AI revolution: link.chtbl.com/nvd

When @Keller pivoted his robotic toy company to delivering blood with autonomous drones, he had no experience with aviation or healthcare.  ~10 years later, @Zipline has made millions of life-saving deliveries, and is now reinventing global logistics with their Platform 2. Keller is a true outlier and a force of nature. Hear the story on the new episode of Crucible Moments.

.@t_xu and the @DoorDash team established a merchant-first approach from Day 1 that's helping businesses small and large thrive in local markets. seq.vc/doordash6d2

About 50% of unicorns have an immigrant cofounder. To me, that is way better than a narrow chance at break through. bit.ly/1Kn5rkN

We help the daring build legendary companies. Few are more daring than @FTX_Official founder and CEO @SBF_FTX Learn more about Sam, his journey, and his mission to build a better future below.

Resilience combined with a maniacal focus on the customer (merchants, consumers, dashers), on different strategy (suburbs), and willingness to understand and operate at the lowest levels (unit economics, cohort retention, neighborhood profitability) you get @DoorDash / $DASH

I Ubered 20 minutes to the GPT-5 Startup Hackathon this afternoon and found teams that hustled their way across the world to hack on GPT-5. These phenomenal builders made useful things in 48 hours. Props to @OpenAI and @cerebral_valley teams! Congrats to the winner, a team that hustled from Seoul, Korea!

What @Clay_gtm is building is the foundation for how modern companies will grow in the AI era, powered by GTM engineers who code revenue instead of software. @sequoia is proud to be part of the journey!

It is always shocking to me the lengths legacy companies/industries will go to fight change rather than innovate themselves.

Thank you @cristineejones !

Did someone forget: “Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.” ― John Maynard Keynes #wallstreetbets #melvincapital #GameStop cnbc.com/2021/01/27/hedge-fu…

7/ If you’re an early-stage founder, another pathway to @Sequoia starts with an Arc application. Could your story be next? Applications close on February 23rd. sequoiacap.com/arc/

So many first started with a scout who believes in a complete underdog. Thanks to our scouts who dream with founders on a mission to change the world.

Thrilled to partner with @kalshi_official to unlock a new chapter in financial markets: trading on event outcomes. Can't imagine a better time to offer people a new way to trade.

6/6 If you’re an ambitious pre-seed or seed founder who wants to partner with Sequoia, share your company story with us: sequoiacap.com/arc/

AMZN market cap increase today almost covers the Whole Foods acquisition price. Amazing! nitter.app/jeffweiner/status/8757…

What….LMAO!

What is the scale of your ambition? Arc is for seed-stage founders actively working on an idea or product and with the ambition of building a category-defining company that will endure for the next decade. To learn more and apply 👉 seq.vc/arc

The IPO is just a financing event and just the beginning of another chapter of @Airbnb and @bchesky future. Look for “I made many things people want” in the next decade.

What's the big deal? Just an average day at @Kalshi. If it is not an average day for you, then join the @Kalshi movement.