4 ms·

Prominent investors, politicians, athletes, etc were associated with FTX/Sam. Should we lose faith in Sequoia, etc, etc, etc?

JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> Should we lose faith in Sequoia, etc, etc, etc? ...yes? Or at the very least, qualify the brand. I've seen founders use XYZ-backed to great effect with investors, customers and even public officials. Making it clearer that Sequoia investing in a company isn't Sequoia saying it's done deep diligence is good for everyone.
searealist 4y ago
Yes. Maybe with an exception for VC which is expected to make a lot of long shots bets of which few pay off.
- tenpies 4y ago
  See, in my book it's the opposite. I don't take financial advise from Tom Brady. I don't expect him - or even his money person - to do due diligence and provide me investment advice. But if I were positioned in one of the funds that invested heavily into a company that even a surface-level check would have revealed to have the controls, governance, and risk management of a lemonade stand, I would be withdrawing all my money, post-haste. You literally had one job to do.
huevosabio 4y ago
It's a bit of a kalman update. Many of them fully endorsed or implicitly endorsed SBF. That SBF was revealed as a fraudster should update your belief on the quality of these people, but not outright scratch them out. For example, I have severely downgraded my opinion of Sequoia.
- fsckboy 4y ago
  Sequoia invests in portfolios of companies. Your judgment of them as something to invest in should be based on overall portfolio performance, not individual outliers. Your judgement of them as as willing to invest in you, does it really matter? If they give you the highest valuation, you're going to turn it down?
themihai 4y ago
Yes, now you know they are just a bunch of lucky idiots with lots of money. The business is good because when you have enough money you can afford to be stupid few times a day. You just play a game of numbers. The start-ups that get funding are not necessary the best ones but with enough funding they may become the winners. Sort of what Softbank tried with VisionFund but worse. There is a bright side on this. If you didn't get funding you don't need to feel guilty.
aswanson 4y ago
Yes. The most recent information indicates they have made a wrong judgement. Your faith in them should be updated accordingly.
HWR_14 4y ago
You should definitely have zero trust in any investment an athlete suggests. I mean, investigate it, it might be fine. But the athlete's endorsement should be worth zero.

JumpCrisscross 4y ago

> Should we lose faith in Sequoia, etc, etc, etc? ...yes? Or at the very least, qualify the brand. I've seen founders use XYZ-backed to great effect with investors, customers and even public officials. Making it clearer that Sequoia investing in a company isn't Sequoia saying it's done deep diligence is good for everyone.

searealist 4y ago

Yes. Maybe with an exception for VC which is expected to make a lot of long shots bets of which few pay off.

tenpies 4y ago
See, in my book it's the opposite. I don't take financial advise from Tom Brady. I don't expect him - or even his money person - to do due diligence and provide me investment advice. But if I were positioned in one of the funds that invested heavily into a company that even a surface-level check would have revealed to have the controls, governance, and risk management of a lemonade stand, I would be withdrawing all my money, post-haste. You literally had one job to do.

huevosabio 4y ago

It's a bit of a kalman update. Many of them fully endorsed or implicitly endorsed SBF. That SBF was revealed as a fraudster should update your belief on the quality of these people, but not outright scratch them out. For example, I have severely downgraded my opinion of Sequoia.

fsckboy 4y ago
Sequoia invests in portfolios of companies. Your judgment of them as something to invest in should be based on overall portfolio performance, not individual outliers. Your judgement of them as as willing to invest in you, does it really matter? If they give you the highest valuation, you're going to turn it down?

themihai 4y ago

Yes, now you know they are just a bunch of lucky idiots with lots of money. The business is good because when you have enough money you can afford to be stupid few times a day. You just play a game of numbers. The start-ups that get funding are not necessary the best ones but with enough funding they may become the winners. Sort of what Softbank tried with VisionFund but worse. There is a bright side on this. If you didn't get funding you don't need to feel guilty.

aswanson 4y ago

Yes. The most recent information indicates they have made a wrong judgement. Your faith in them should be updated accordingly.

HWR_14 4y ago

You should definitely have zero trust in any investment an athlete suggests. I mean, investigate it, it might be fine. But the athlete's endorsement should be worth zero.