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There has been an extraordinary amount of digital ink spent on Sequoia Capital’s “graveyard” deck, but it seems that the stuff is infinite. So here’s a litle bit more, in notes form:
1. Sequoia has gotten a lot of credit for “telling it like it is,” but shouldn’t it also get some blame for being behind the eight-ball? Specifically, how did Sequoia seemingly allow so many of its companies to become bloated enough – particularly the young ones – that they can so easily shed jobs? It’s one thing to kill off a non-core auto or financial services vertical, but quite another to slash within the main biz. Smart CEOs were beginning to cut burn rate quarters ago, and smart VCs were telling the dumb ones to do so.
2. That said, it was still a brilliant PR ploy. Seems each one of its portfolio companies got a press pass for making cuts.
3. During a panel discussion this past Saturday, Andy Goldfarb of Globespan noted that Sequoia’s presentation to its CEOs was followed by wine and cheese. Way to really make the cost-cutting message stick. The only way this should have happened if it was box wine and Velveeta on Ritz.
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