Sequoia in Europe with Luciana Lixandru

<p>Sequoia Capital has landed in Europe. Last September, Silicon Valley's premier venture capital firm set up shop in London with <a href="https://twitter.com/LucianaLix" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Luciana Lixandru</a> at its head. With COVID aside, why make this move in 2020? Sequoia has previously invested in European companies like UiPath, Unity, and Klarna — why the need for a physical base? In this episode, we dive into all these questions with Luciana; learn more about how Sequoia finds, screens, and supports portfolio companies; talk about its scout program; and a lot more!</p><br><p>At Sequoia, Luciana focuses on enterprise and consumer technology companies across Europe. She is passionate about helping founders at all stages unlock their potential and think on a global scale. Prior to becoming Sequoia's first partner in Europe, Luciana (#12 on Forbes' Midas List Europe) worked at Accel for eight years, where she led investments in UiPath, Deliveroo, Hopin, Framer, Miro, and Tessian. </p><br><p>Topics: </p><p><strong>00:23&nbsp;</strong>— Introduction with Roxanne Varza &amp; Gwen Salley </p><p><strong>01:20</strong>&nbsp;— Luciana on Sequoia’s move to London </p><p><strong>03:28&nbsp;</strong>— Why enter Europe in 2020 </p><p><strong>04:14&nbsp;</strong>— Sequoia’s investment thesis and examples of European investments </p><p><strong>04:46&nbsp;</strong>— Establishing a physical presence in Europe to find talent earlier </p><p><strong>06:12</strong>&nbsp;— Sequoia’s Europe team </p><p><strong>09:15&nbsp;</strong>— Luciana on team building at Sequoia and recruitment for London </p><p><strong>10:50&nbsp;</strong>— How Sequoia invests and helps with company building </p><p><strong>12:45&nbsp;</strong>— The differences in the European ecosystem </p><p><strong>14:56</strong> — The impact of COVID on work habits </p><p><strong>16:20</strong>&nbsp;— Sequoia’s screening process (including one of Luciana’s tricks!) </p><p><strong>22:00&nbsp;</strong>— How Sequoia leverages its community to help its