Has Sequoia Capital outgrown its business model?

T HE FIRST thing that catches your eye when you enter the poshly serene headquarters of Sequoia Capital on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California, is a metre-wide cross-section of what appears to be a redwood. On closer inspection it turns out to have been a tree in the past—38m years ago, according to a plaque on the back. Now it is solid stone. A gift from Roelof Botha, the venture-capital (VC) firm’s current boss, and his wife, it reminds employees and guests of the durability of the organisation they are visiting, which has existed since 1972. In the accelerated time of Silicon Valley, that is aeons.

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