Don Valentine

Don Valentine grew up in New York and studied chemistry at Fordham University. He worked as a salesman at Fairchild Semiconductor and then as National Semiconductor's VP of sales before founding Sequoia Capital in Menlo Park, California in 1972. Valentine's investment philosophy was defined by his preference for large, addressable markets: he focused on technologies and companies that could address massive consumer needs at scale, rather than niche applications. This lens produced an extraordinary portfolio. He invested $150,000 in Apple Computer in 1978 — one of the earliest institutional investments in what would become the world's most valuable company. He backed Oracle when Larry Ellison was pitching the relational database concept, and Cisco Systems when it was a small networking startup. Over a 47-year career Valentine invested in Electronic Arts, YouTube (before Google acquired it), and countless others. He built Sequoia Capital into Silicon Valley's most influential venture firm, training subsequent generations of venture capitalists including Michael Moritz and Doug Leone. Sequoia now manages over $80 billion across venture, growth, and early-stage funds in the US, China, India, Israel, and Southeast Asia. Valentine passed away in October 2019 at age 87.