Sequoia Capital has been at the top of its game in the United States for decades, thanks to early investments in Google, Yahoo, LinkedIn and PayPal, as well as, more recently, its stakes in the messaging startup WhatsApp, the payments company Stripe and the video conferencing unicorn company Zoom.Yet unlike a lot of top-tier firms in Silicon Valley, Sequoia is far from reliant on the Bay Area companies for huge returns.
Instead, a dozen years ago, anticipating that the most impactful tech ideas could come from anywhere and be built around the world, the firm founded Sequoia China and Sequoia India, assembling local teams to invest in startups and help founders build their companies.That strategy is now paying off, big time.
As we reported earlier this week, Sequoia currently makes more than 50 cents from every dollar returned to its investors from its overseas bets.Among the many companiesSequoia Capital Chinaalone has funded:Meituan-Dianping, the group-discount service that sells locally found products and retail services and justfiled to go publicin Hong Kong; Ele.me, the food ordering company that sold a controlling stake in its business to Alibaba in April for$9.5 billion; DJI, the drone company, which was reported to be raising $1 billion in new funding this spring at a$15 billion valuation; VIP.com, the commerce platform thatwent publicin 2012 and currently boasts a $7.2 billion market cap; and Didi, the mobile transportation giant thats in a race against its United States rival Uber to conquer the global ride-hailing market.To learn more about the new reality facing Silicon Valley startups that competition is no longer next door, its global were thrilled to announce that Sequoia Managing Partner Doug Leone is coming to Disrupt for a fireside chat.
Leone oversees the firms global operations with Roelof Botha, who runs Sequoias United States business, and Neil Shen, the founder and managing partner of Sequoia Capital China,and he knows better than nearly anyone in Silicon Valley how the investing and technology landscapes are evolving and what founders globally should be mindful of as they build the next legendary company.Leone also knows the value of grit.
Leone immigrated to the United States from Italy and was reportedly called Pasta in high schoolbefore rising to the top of one of the most admired venture firms in history.
Its no wonder Leone is particularly passionate about founders from humble backgrounds like his own.If you care about the global shifts that are majorly reshaping the tech industry right now, and the stuff that great founders are made of, youre going to want to catch this conversation.You can buy tickets to the show, taking place in San Francisco September 5th through September 7th, righthere.