The Math of Venture: From 50 Bets to 1 Billion
In 2011, Sequoia Capital invested $8 million at a $60 million valuation in WhatsApp. Four years later, Facebook acquired the company for $19 billion.
In 2011, Sequoia Capital invested $8 million at a $60 million valuation in WhatsApp. Four years later, Facebook acquired the company for $19 billion, turning that outlay into $3 billion—an almost 50× multiple that rewrote Sequoia’s playbook. Two decades after eBay’s meteoric rise, investors still hunt for power-law payoffs. You won’t land these giants by scattering small bets. You need precise math, unwavering conviction, and the discipline to concentrate when the signal’s strongest.
