Doug Leone

Don Valentine gave me the shot at Sequoia in 1988, and prevailed on the partners to “give the kid a little more time” when I struggled early on. Don was very tough. After one presentation where I asked an aggressive question, he left a note written in green ink on the conference room table for me to see which said ‘Doug – not fit to listen to founders.’ This is how feedback was given. You learned real fast. I made it to Partner in 1993 and became Managing Partner in 1996. Worked with companies such as RingCentral, ServiceNow and Nubank, while leading our expansion into China and India. Bent the arc of a number of companies.

What got me here? Fear, hunger and empathy. I came to America from Italy as an only child with my parents at age 11. We settled in Mount Vernon, New York, which was a tough town. I couldn’t throw or hit a baseball. I was an outsider trying to blend in. You had to develop thick skin and have your eyes wide open. My father was a strong and funny man. My mother was shrewd and warm. I am a product of both. My first job after college was in technical sales because I understood people. The CEO and board members of Sun Micro heard of my sales achievements and gave me strong references when I applied for VC jobs.

Performance. Do you bring it everyday? You can’t always be at 110%, but when it’s playoff time the great players know how to bring it. You have to take as many people along with you for the ride. Teams always beat individuals. I love founders who are spiky, in any dimension. It’s never about money but about doing something meaningful. They do the impossible and you have to learn to dream with them, while helping them to build a business.

We have a culture of taking risks. I prefer you take a shot. I’d rather have someone who gets A, F, F, A than someone that gets B+, B+, B+, B+. I prefer people who ask for forgiveness rather than for permission. You have to be willing to put yourself out of business by trying new things, before someone else does.

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