1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 Julien Bek is a Partner at Sequoia Capital, one of the most renowned venture firms in the world.&amp;nbsp; At Sequoia, he has partnered with companies including Rillet, Tacto, and Auctor.&amp;nbsp;Before joining Sequoia, Julien spent five years at Accel, where he worked with companies including Miro, Melio, and BeReal.&amp;nbsp;He is also an angel investor in Revolut and Attio. AGENDA: 06:35 – What did Julien only discover about Sequoia after joining the firm? 08:05 – What does everyone get wrong about Sequoia? 13:00 – Is Series A the hardest stage at which to invest today? 14:00 – Is Sequoia less focused on ownership as outcomes become larger? 19:20 – Does Sequoia simply pay more than everyone else to win deals? 22:00 – Is the “triple, triple, double, double” growth model dead? 25:00 – What is Sequoia’s investment process really like behind the scenes? 27:15 – Can a partner still invest when the rest of Sequoia votes against them? 30:00 – Why can a flawless founder pitch actually be a warning sign? 31:00 – How do you judge whether a founder is exceptional in just 30 minutes? 33:00 – How can investors tell whether a founder’s story is genuine? 35:10 – Is arrogance a bad trait in a founder? 36:00 – Which great founder did Julien completely misread? 37:15 – How should investors adjust their founder assessment across different cultures? 39:00 – What does a founder’s childhood reveal about their future trajectory? 40:30 – What has Julien learned from Doug Leone, Pat Grady, Alfred Lin and Shaun Maguire? 47:00 – What does it mean when “agents become the new customer”? 49:00 – Does UI become irrelevant in an agent-first economy? 50:15 – Will answer-engine optimisation become larger than SEO? 52:00 – Will AI agents destroy software margins and brand loyalty? 53:00 – How quickly will enterprises allow agents to make purchasing decisions? 54:00 – Is AI infrastructure a safer investment than applications? 56:00 – Do software margins matter less when the potential outcomes are larger? 58:00 – Could the next trillion-dollar company masquerade as a services business? 01:00:00 – Which service industries can AI truly automate end-to-end? 01:02:00 – Are enterprises simply crying out for more help implementing AI? 01:03:10 – Will AI lead to dramatically smaller teams? 01:06:15 – Is traditional private equity screwed? 01:07:00 – The most overfunded and underfunded categories in venture 01:08:15 – What is the best AI agent company outside Sequoia’s portfolio? 01:09:00 – Which missed investment still haunts Julien? 01:09:45 – Which founder trait will Julien never compromise on? 01:10:00 – Which competing fund makes Sequoia bring its A-game? 01:10:45 – How Julien missed Revolut—and helped his mother retire by investing anyway 01:14:00 – What does Julien believe that other Sequoia partners might disagree with? 01:15:00 – What is Julien most excited about over the next five years of AI? The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch http://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/ <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/42520710/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/content/205343200