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Michelle Fradin

  • Growth
Storytelling is an undervalued art in most companies, and especially in technology. The difference between good and legendary companies is how well they tell the story of how they make people’s lives better.

Backstory

I was raised by a former Buddhist monk and a banker—hopefully, I’m a good mix. My father was a monk in Thailand, then went to college in the U.S. and became a filmmaker, author and composer. My mother was raised by Midwestern, Irish Catholic parents, mostly put herself through college, and worked her way up in a career in finance. She was a capital partner to companies for 30 years and a founder herself. My father taught me to dream and my mother taught me a relentless work ethic to achieve them. I loved learning from a young age. As a kid, I used to “play” the digital encyclopedia Microsoft Encarta as a video game, traveling from the arctic to Zimbabwe, bouncing from chemistry to capoeira.

Starting my career at McKinsey, I got to see great leaders and organizations up close. I wanted to learn how world-class technology was built, so I went to Google as a Team Lead in the Creative Lab. We worked on products related to e-commerce, payments, AI/ML, and more, but in the end I learned the most about storytelling. I scouted some early stage investments for Google, but I wanted to better learn what made a great business, so I went to Hellman & Friedman, a private equity firm known for intellectual rigor and good values. After cutting my teeth there, I got a call from Sequoia. It was a dream team and opportunity, combining what I loved about investing, serving others and always learning.

On the lookout for

Great founders building great businesses. I work with companies across enterprise applications, infrastructure, consumer and crypto.

Get in touch with Michelle

Personal Side

  • Big extended family
  • Friends
  • Live music
  • Art
  • Comedy
  • Reading
  • Travel
  • Skiing

Press & Media

Companies

Current Companies

Company Name  Short Description Current Stage  Founders First Partnered  collapse
FireblocksFireblocks is an all-in-one platform for storing, transferring and issuing digital assets.Growth
  • Pavel Berengoltz
  • Idan Ofrat
  • Michael Shaulov
Growth (2021)Collapse
GetirGetir is the pioneer of 10-minute grocery delivery.Growth
  • Serkan Borancılı
  • Mehmed Nazim Salur
  • Tuncay Tütek
Growth (2021)Collapse
Hex TechnologiesHex is a a collaborative platform for data science and analytics. Growth
  • Caitlin Colgrove
  • Barry McCardel
  • Glen Takahashi
Growth (2023)Collapse
LayerZeroLayerZero is an omnichain interoperability protocol that enables trustless cross-chain dApp development.Growth
  • Caleb Banister
  • Bryan Pellegrino
  • Ryan Zarick
Early (2022)Collapse
nxyznxyz builds real-time, flexible blockchain data APIs.Early
  • Sridhar Ramaswamy
EarlyCollapse
PilotPilot provides bookkeeping, tax preparation and CFO services for startups and small businesses.Growth
  • Jeff Arnold
  • Waseem Daher
  • Jessica McKellar
Growth (2020)Collapse

Enduring Companies

Company Name  Short Description Current Stage  Founders First Partnered  collapse
AirbnbAirbnb connects people around the world with unique homes and unforgettable experiences.IPO
  • Nathan Blecharczyk
  • Brian Chesky
  • Joe Gebbia
Seed (2009)Collapse