How to Pitch Sequoia Capital

Sequoia Capital has backed Stripe, Airbnb, WhatsApp, DoorDash, and Zoom, and under Roelof Botha it distributed $50 billion to its LPs. Most founders raising a seed or Series A have it on their list.

That makes its inbox crowded, but the doors are more open than the folklore says.

This guide breaks down exactly what Sequoia looks for, what gets funded, what gets ignored, and how to structure an approach that actually has a chance.

What Sequoia Actually Is

Sequoia is not one fund. It invests from seed through growth in the US and Europe. Its India and Southeast Asia business became Peak XV Partners and its China business became HongShan in 2023-24, so a founder in India or China is now pitching a different firm. For an early-stage founder the relevant money is the $200M seed fund and the $750M early-stage fund announced in October 2025. Sequoia does not publish check sizes.

Sequoia's team page groups its investors into Seed/early, Growth and Operator. Pitch someone in Seed/early, and choose the partner whose published focus matches what you build. A developer-tools founder and a consumer founder should not be writing to the same person.

What Sequoia Looks For

Sequoia has published more of its investment philosophy than almost any other fund. Their partners write extensively. The through-line across everything:

1. Founder-market fit. Alfred Lin, who now co-leads the firm, puts it plainly on his profile: "Basically, I am on the lookout for founder-market fit." Expect the meeting to test why you, specifically, are the person to build this company.

2. Large, underestimated markets. Sequoia has made a pattern of backing companies in markets that looked small at entry — Airbnb (who would trust a stranger's couch?) and WhatsApp (who needs another messaging app?) — that turned out to be massive. They are specifically looking for markets where the size isn't obvious yet. If everyone agrees the market is large, you're probably too late.

3. An unfair advantage. This could be technology, distribution, data, regulatory position, or network effects. The question is: why will this company win and not the ten teams that will copy it in 12 months? What do you know or have that others don't?

4. A product that people love, not just use. Early traction matters, but there is a difference between polite usage and genuine love. Look for signs that users would be devastated if the product went away — high retention, organic referrals, user behavior that shows dependency.

5. Timing. Why is now the right moment? What has changed — technically, culturally, or economically — that makes this company possible today when it wasn't possible two years ago?

What Sequoia Says About Traction

Sequoia does not publish revenue or growth thresholds. Numbers attributed to it online, such as a $1M ARR Series A bar or retention cutoffs, are not from the firm. What it has said on record:

Seed can start on day one. Roelof Botha said Sequoia made 20 seed investments in the 12 months before November 2025, and nine of them were at incorporation. Pre-revenue is normal at seed.

Seed and Series A are separate money. The $200M seed fund and the $750M early-stage fund were raised side by side, each sized for its round.

The partners say what they look for. Each seed and early profile on sequoiacap.com has an "On the lookout for" section. Read it, then bring the evidence that answers it: usage, retention, revenue, or an insight only someone inside the market would have.

What Gets Ignored

Based on patterns in their portfolio and public statements from partners:

• Feature companies. Products that solve one narrow problem without a path to platform or adjacency. Sequoia is looking for companies that could be $1B+. A feature is not that.
• Crowded categories with no differentiation. If your pitch starts with "we're like X but better," you need a more compelling differentiation story. "Better" is not a moat.
• Founder-market mismatch. If you're building in healthcare without deep domain knowledge, or enterprise software without prior enterprise sales experience, you will be asked hard questions about why you're the right person. Have a compelling answer.
• Linear growth. Sequoia's model requires power-law outcomes. A company growing predictably but not exponentially will struggle to get conviction from the partnership.

How to Structure Your Approach

1. Use the doors Sequoia publishes. Each seed and early partner's profile carries a Get in touch address, Sequoia lists cold outreach among the ways it finds founders, and Arc opens an application call twice a year. A warm intro from a founder Sequoia has backed still helps, but it is not the only way in. Write one specific note to one partner rather than the same deck to several.

2. Nail the one-liner before anything else. Before you send a deck, be able to explain what you do in one sentence that makes the listener immediately understand why the market is large and why now is the moment. Test it on people outside your space. If they don't get it immediately, rewrite it.

3. Lead with traction, not vision. For seed and Series A, Sequoia partners have seen thousands of visions. What differentiates you is proof — users, revenue, retention data, or unique insight from being in the market. Lead with what you've learned and built, not where you plan to go.

4. Know your numbers cold. CAC, LTV, payback period, burn multiple, MRR, churn — you will be asked, and not knowing them signals you're not operating with the rigor Sequoia expects.

5. Prepare for the "why you" question. It will come. Have a specific, non-generic answer about what you've done that proves you're the right person to build this company in this market at this moment.

The Deck

Sequoia's own guide to writing a business plan lists these sections:

1. Company purpose (one sentence)
2. Problem
3. Solution
4. Why now
5. Market potential
6. Competition and alternatives
7. Business model
8. Team
9. Financials
10. Vision

Keep it to 10–15 slides. The goal of the deck is to get the meeting, not to answer every question. Leave room for conversation.

A second track: Pitch Protocol

Warm paths into a fund like Sequoia take time. Pitch Protocol is not a route into Sequoia; it is a second track you can run alongside your outreach. Applying is free, your own AI agent submits one application in about ten minutes with no web form, and the funds in our network whose thesis matches reach out to you directly. Apply to the First 100 Founders Cohort →