Jess Lee

I wanted to draw manga, but my parents wouldn’t let me go to art school. So computer science at Stanford led me to Google as a PM. Then I fell for Polyvore, a product that combined my love of self-expression with my training in software development. I emailed with some suggestions and complaints, and the founders hired me as employee #1. I wore many hats, from writing code to designing UX to community building, from fundraising to selling ads. There were epic highs and lows. Most of these roles were new to me, but my love for the product and our user community was my guide. Eventually the founders named me a cofounder and even gifted me some of their own shares. Four years in, I became CEO.

My first meeting with Roelof wasn’t the pitch opportunity I was hoping for. He was pitching me to become a VC! A couple years later, after Polyvore was acquired by Yahoo!, we met again and the timing worked out. I worried I didn’t fit the mold, but when Roelof and Jim showed up with an offer letter in hand, dressed as Buzz and Woody from Toy Story, I knew there was a place for cosplay (and me) at Sequoia.

I came here to be the partner I wish I’d had as a founder, the first person you text with good news and bad. In addition to investing, I work closely with our engineering, product, design, and data science teams, and help run our Company Design program. I also helped cofound All Raise, a community of female founders and funders dedicated to changing the gender balance in tech. I’m so grateful to be part of a partnership that not just accepts, but encourages, difference.

Spike. Grit. Spark. The best founders have something that sets them apart. And yet, when you are that spiky, gritty, high-slope founder, it doesn’t always feel fantastic. It can feel like a rollercoaster that swings daily, hourly, with each moment. It’s easy to doubt yourself. Grit and tenacity are essential for survival. I look for distance traveled, mission orientation, and underdogs with something to prove. It also helps to be a great storyteller who can convince people to join you on the adventure.

Consumer is my natural habitat. The greatest consumer companies fundamentally change the way we live or work, so I pay close attention to generational shifts like the rise of the side hustle, the aging population, Gen Z attitudes and the future of flexible work. Some of the great consumer ideas seem crazy at first. When you start, most people think, “That will never work.” And then it works.

Get in touch with Jess