Roelof Botha — Sequoia’s Crucible Moment (Invest Like the Best)

Roelof Botha of Sequoia on Invest Like the Best, as Kyle took notes on it.

Why it was kept

Kyle kept Botha’s case for more competition in venture, the idea that bankruptcy is necessary for capitalism to reallocate resources, and the pre-parade and pre-mortem practice Botha took from Larry Summers.

As Kyle captured it

• Listened to Roelof Botha at Sequoia on Invest Like The Best
  • Source
  • He wants more competition in venture because ultimately its better for founders. A monopoly business would make them lazy; we need people pushing the edge
  • One of his Stanford professors taught him that bankruptcy is necessary for capitalism because it allows people and resources to be reallocated to more worthy causes.
    • Connect to Harry Stebbings tweet and Natural Selection Among Startups; but when you have too much capital it creates artificial survival / life-support for things that shouldn’t survive.
  • Stole the idea from Larry Summers whose on the board of Square, the idea of a pre-parade and a pre-mortem Post-Mortems
  • The whole point is to evaluate the key decisions that you have to make and what could go right, and what could go wrong.
  • What key things need to happen to be able to be successful?
  • The same reflection that should occur before you undertake something should happen after you do something to understand what didn’t go the way you wanted it to?

Connections

Roelof Botha · Sequoia · Invest Like The Best · Larry Summers · Post-Mortems · Natural Selection Among Startups