
What Sequoia Looks For - pg
http://www.sequoiacap.com/ideas/
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sharpshoot
Reading their website is pretty inspiring.

I really resonated with the following statement about underdogs:

"The collision of intelligence and ambition with opportunity is unbeatable.
Almost everyone we have ever invested in has been a complete unknown at the
time we met. Many have been immigrants or first generation Americans with
barely a penny to their name. Underdogs are our favorite kind of people."

~~~
vlad
+1 on the benefits of being unknown!

I wore a Justin.TV shirt that I got the 9th time I called Justin's public
number in the three days of his launch and promised I would wear at Startup
School.

One Stanford student at the event thought I was Justin. That was awesome. At
least I was recognized.

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nivi
For business plan formatting, I always suggest this article by David Cowan:
<http://whohastimeforthis.blogspot.com/2005/11/how-to-not-write-business-
plan.html>

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pg
Since Sequoia are fairly good judges, this is not too far removed from being a
list of what makes a good startup.

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dpapathanasiou
Greg McAdoo's talk at Startup School is also worth a listen:
<http://weblava.net/2007-03/startup-
school/Startup_School_2007-Greg_McAdoo.mp3>

~~~
far33d
Greg's talk was wonderful. It was great to see a VC that breaks the mold:
technically savvy, on the side of the entrepreneur, and knowledgeable about
the markets in a real way.

~~~
erdos2
I used to share an office with Greg McAdoo, at a certain subsidiary of the New
York Times.

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iamwil
Under "Solution" it says "Show where your product physically sits" I'm not
sure exactly what that means. I'm guessing it's literal?

So for web applications, it sits on a server? For a guard dog, it sits on the
front porch?

~~~
Mistone
I think they are referring to it's position in the marketplace.

For example if you make load balancing software your product sets somewhere is
the network stack.

If you sell designer clothing your product sits in fashionable boutiques and
department stores.

In terms of web apps I think it sits in a browser on a connected device.

not sure if I nailed it, let me know if that is helpful.

~~~
iamwil
Hrm, yeah, I think your answer makes much more sense than mine. Just going
through it as an exercise kinda helped flushed some things out, but this
question was vague for me. Perhaps for company strategists, it's a commonplace
term.

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steve
_the smell of founder fear_

