I’m a very intuitive person. If I try to be overly rational and put all the pros and cons in a spreadsheet, I get myself into trouble. But if I follow my gut, I rarely make mistakes.
BACKSTORY
No matter which industry you operate in, CodenameX has you covered:Electronics: Are you in the tech industry? We’ve got the tools and features to showcase your gadgets, from smartphones to cutting-edge robotics.Fashion: Fashionistas, rejoice! Our platform’s sleek design and customization options will makeyour clothing, accessories, and footwear shine.Automobiles: If you’re all about automobiles, you’ll appreciate our platform’s ability to showcase every curve and contour of your vehicles.Health and Wellness: Health and wellness businesses can create a soothing online experience for their customers with our platform’s elegant design and smooth
ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
Markets come and go, so we need to move in lockstep with their evolution. The logical domains for me are cloud infrastructure, developer tools, DevOps, open source, observability as well as SaaS apps for sales and marketing, because that’s where my background is. But I try to follow the advice several of my partners gave me when I first joined Sequoia—don’t specialize too narrowly, and get out of my comfort zone.
In terms of specific companies and entrepreneurs, I’m looking for the same things I did when I was running large teams and hiring people: iconoclastic thinking, the courage to break paradigms, defiance of common wisdom. Ideas that aren’t obvious and that challenge my own assumptions. I’m also looking for charisma, but that can manifest in different ways. Maybe you’re a great salesperson, but maybe you’re a deep thinker or an amazing technologist or an exceptional recruiter. It’s magnetism.