It was intense for me, but they were quite adept at making me at ease. They asked great questions and were quite honest about their positions on things, (their

It was intense for me, but they were quite adept at making me at ease. They asked great questions and were quite honest about their positions on things, (their level of interest, their feeling about the market I'm in, etc). I'm using "they" to maintain propriety, but my experience was only with one partner. I've met a few of the partners through Y Combinator and all of them seem on the up and up. In fact, I moved back to New York City after Y Combinator Summer '07 and ran into Greg McAdoo and his wife in Central Park. It was a brief chat, but I was impressed that he remembered me. I think Sequoia has the track record to be able to spare everyone the game playing. As I said, the meeting arose out of a cold email, so that's quite telling on its own. I definitely feel that I could return to them when I think my company's position has matured and it's more appropriate to raise a series A. Sequoia and Matrix stand out as two firms that will provide advice while simultaneously performing cursory due diligence. That's a plus for non-business types like myself.