Prepare for your Sequoia Capital venture interview

Founder assessment and investment thesis for the world's most storied venture fund.

Socratify AI

The Interview

What Sequoia Capital is looking for

Founder Fit Interview

Founder & Team Assessment

01Founder Quality

02Team Cohesion

03Execution Track Record

04Vision Alignment

Market Interview

Market Opportunity & TAM

01TAM Sizing

02Market Dynamics

03Competitive Positioning

04Expansion Potential

Investment Thesis Interview

Investment Decision & Thesis

01Business Model

02Unit Economics

03Growth Path

04Risk Assessment

Behavioral Interview

Behavioral & Judgment

01Investment Conviction

02Pattern Recognition

03Contrarian Thinking

04Portfolio Thinking

Apple, Google, PayPal founder focus//Long-term partnership model//Global reach

Practice Library

Sequoia Capital exercises

Ready to ace your Sequoia Capital venture interview?

Prepare for your Sequoia Capital venture interview

Founder assessment and investment thesis for the world's most storied venture fund.

Socratify AI

The Interview

What Sequoia Capital is looking for

Founder Fit Interview

Founder & Team Assessment

01Founder Quality

02Team Cohesion

03Execution Track Record

04Vision Alignment

Market Interview

Market Opportunity & TAM

01TAM Sizing

02Market Dynamics

03Competitive Positioning

04Expansion Potential

Investment Thesis Interview

Investment Decision & Thesis

01Business Model

02Unit Economics

03Growth Path

04Risk Assessment

Behavioral Interview

Behavioral & Judgment

01Investment Conviction

02Pattern Recognition

03Contrarian Thinking

04Portfolio Thinking

Apple, Google, PayPal founder focus//Long-term partnership model//Global reach

How It Works

Master Sequoia Venture Interviews

Founder evaluation and market sizing. · Click to expand

1Your Venture Capital Goals

Founder Evaluation

Practitioner

Market Sizing

Practitioner

2Venture Capital Case Prep

Evaluate Series A AI infrastructure startup requesting $50M at $300M post. Revenue 3...

CASE INTERVIEWHard

Sequoia Capital

3Frameworks

Framework

Is the founding team and organizational structure world-class?

What is the relevant experience and execution track record?

CEO: 8 years at Google (Workspace), VP level; IPO experience

CTO: First startup, but 6 years at Palantir (data systems); raised seed themselves

Is the team cohesion and culture-building evident?

Team size: 35 headcount, 12 month churn 18% (vs SaaS median 22%)

Founded together 2 years ago; no co-founder conflict signals

Is the addressable market large enough to justify $200M post-money?

What is the total addressable market (TAM) and competition?

TAM: $180B (enterprise workflow automation globally)

SAM (serviceable available market): $12B (mid-market segments targeted)

What is the competitive positioning and differentiation?

Competitors: UiPath (mature, public), Blue Prism (niche), Automation Anywhere (overcrowded)

Differentiation: AI-native orchestration (vs rule-based); low-code for citizen developers

Are unit economics strong and path to profitability clear?

What is the customer quality and unit retention?

ACV: $85K (vs UiPath $250K), NRR: 118% (expansion + land-and-expand)

CAC: $25K, payback period: 3.5 months (excellent)

What is the path to profitability and burn profile?

Monthly burn: $1.8M, runway after $20M raise: 18 months at current burn

Profitability target: month 24 at 35% EBITDA margin (based on SaaS benchmarks)

4Feedback

Founder Fit

Distinctive

Market Opportunity

Distinctive

Unit Economics

Strong

Investment Conviction

Strong

Repeat

Practice Library

Sequoia Capital exercises

Evaluate Series A AI infra startup at $300M post. Revenue 3mo, no path to profitability....

CASE INTERVIEWHard

AI/Enterprise · Investment DecisionSequoia Capital

Size TAM for climate tech battery startup. Build from first principles.

LEARNHard

Climate Tech · Market SizingSequoia Capital

Founder spent 3 years at FAANG. First startup. Red flags? Opportunity?

LEARNMedium

Founder · Founder FitSequoia Capital

Investment conviction when the board disagrees.

BEHAVIORALMedium

Behavioral · ConvictionSequoia Capital

Tell me about a company you passed on. Why? Any regrets?

BEHAVIORALMedium

Behavioral · JudgmentSequoia Capital