Publications
Publications
- April 2014
- HBS Case Collection
Don Valentine and Sequoia Capital
By: Felda Hardymon, Tom Nicholas and Liz Kind
Abstract
Don Valentine participated in the beginnings of two significant milestones: the birth of the silicon chip and the development of the venture capital industry. From humble beginnings, Valentine became a legendary salesman at Fairchild Semiconductor and National Semiconductor before founding Sequoia Capital in 1972. Valentine was comfortable making high-risk bets on unknown entrepreneurs in markets where he saw great potential. Unlike other venture capitalists of the time that focused on finding outstanding entrepreneurs or groundbreaking technology, Valentine took a different approach. He focused predominantly on the size of the potential market.
Keywords
Citation
Hardymon, Felda, Tom Nicholas, and Liz Kind. "Don Valentine and Sequoia Capital." Harvard Business School Case 814-096, April 2014.