20VC: The Memo: Sequoia's Alfred Lin on Why Chasing GMV Leads To Bad Behaviours, How To Approach Competition and Capital Efficiency & The Core Importance of Understanding the Difference Between Input and Output Metrics
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
The Twenty Minute VC
4.4 • 637 Ratings
🗓️ 27 January 2021
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Alfred Lin is a Partner @ Sequoia Capital, one of the world's most renowned and successful venture firms with a portfolio including the likes of Google, Airbnb, Whatsapp, Stripe, Zoom, Doordash and many more. As for Alfred, he has led deals in the likes of Airbnb, Doordash, Instacart, Reddit and Houzz to name a few. Prior to the world of venture, Alfred was Chairman and COO @ Zappos for 6 years leading to their acquisition by Amazon.
In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Alfred made his way into the world of venture and came to be a Partner @ Sequoia? How Alfred first met DoorDash? Where did the meeting take place? Who was there? What were the first impressions?
2.) Market: How did Alfred breakdown the food delivery market when doing the diligence for the investment? How did Alfred forsee the market changing over time? What were some unexpected elements of the market Alfred did not forsee? What does Alfred look for in markets; size or growth?
3.) Competition: How did Alfred analyse the competitive landscape for food delivery at the time? Why does Alfred believe that great companies are not built by focusing on the competition? What does Alfred mean when he says, "you have to be customer-obsessed and competitor aware"?
4.) Traction: Does Alfred agree with Sarah Tavel in the dangers of chasing topline GMV? What negative behaviours can chasing GMV trigger? What does Alfred mean when he says, "founders have to be able to distinguish between input and output metrics"?
5.) Acquisition: What does Alfred believe DoorDash did so well in terms of acquiring drivers more efficiently? How did they retain them so effectively? What allowed DoorDash to compete so effectively when it came to merchant acquisition? What were some of Alfred's biggest takeaways when it came to DoorDash's customer acquisition journey?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the 20 minute VC, but this is a new type of show on the 20 minute VC. |
| 0:03.9 | So starting from today, we're launching the memo, a monthly show where we invite VCs who've led |
| 0:08.1 | rounds for some of the best and biggest companies in the world. |
| 0:11.1 | And we focus the show around the investment memo that they wrote at the time of doing the |
| 0:14.7 | investment and unpack what changed, what worked, what did not work, what was surprising and so much |
| 0:19.8 | more. And we could not have a better guess for our first episode of the memo, |
| 0:23.0 | as we welcome Alfred Lynn discussing his leading series A round for DoorDash with Sequoia. |
| 0:27.7 | As for Contest, Alfred is a partner at Sequoia and has led deals in the likes of Airbnb, DoorDash, Instacart, Reddit and Howes, to name a few. Prior to the world of venture, Alfred was chairman and |
| 0:37.9 | C-O at Zappos for six years leading to their acquisition by Amazon. But before we dive into |
| 0:42.9 | the show today, Rippling has helped thousands of startups automate their HR and IT, from employee |
| 0:48.1 | payroll and benefits to devices and apps. Now they're helping startups access better health, |
| 0:53.1 | coverage, and HR with their |
| 0:54.9 | newest product, the Rippling PEO. So state-by-state compliance is a pain. And if you've hired |
| 1:00.0 | employees in other states or your employees have relocated to other states because of COVID, |
| 1:04.2 | you know what a pain registering with and maintaining each new state unemployment insurance |
| 1:09.1 | office is. Employees paying too much for HR and benefits, |
| 1:12.5 | the Rippling PEO can solve these challenges. |
| 1:15.0 | As soon as you hire someone out of state |
| 1:16.7 | or an existing employee relocates, |
| 1:18.9 | Rippling automatically registers your startup |
| 1:21.2 | with the appropriate unemployment agencies |
| 1:23.2 | and keeps you compliant with all local regulations |
... |
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