Sequoia interview questions

A practical screen for whether the candidate can turn a founder deck into an investment investigation.

You receive a 15-slide seed pitch deck. What are the five questions you need answered before deciding whether to take a first meeting?

A first-round question testing whether a candidate understands the practical job of an early investor after writing a cheque.

A fund is considering leading a seed round. What does being the lead investor actually mean, and why might a founder care?

A core seed underwriting calculation that tests whether capital is connected to a de-risking plan.

A startup has $1.8m in cash, burns $150k per month, and plans to raise $3.0m. It expects monthly burn to rise to $250k after six months. Calculate the post-financing runway and explain what you would…

At seed stage there are no financials, so this is most of the decision.

At seed stage there's no revenue and no product-market fit. How do you assess a founding team?

The arithmetic every VC analyst is expected to do in their head.

A fund invests $5m for 20% of a company, and the round includes a 10% post-money option pool. What is the pre-money valuation, and who actually pays for the pool? Then: after two more rounds each…

A cap-table exercise used to test whether an analyst can reconcile headline valuation, ownership and pre-money option-pool dilution.

Two founders own 8.0m shares. Before a priced seed round, the investor requires a 1.0m-share option pool to be created. The investor puts in $2.0m for 20% post-money ownership. Calculate the investor…

The instrument question in every seed conversation.

Explain a SAFE, a convertible note and a priced round. What are the risks of stacking SAFEs?

Tests whether you understand what venture is actually optimising for.

A $200m seed fund makes 30 investments. How does it return 3x to its investors, and what does that imply about how you should evaluate any single deal?

The question that decides whether early traction becomes a durable business.

A startup is growing fast but the product could be rebuilt in six months by a competent team. Is that a problem? How do you assess defensibility?

An offer-ready investment committee case: form a decision without pretending early evidence is conclusive.

A security startup has a former CISO founder, two enthusiastic design partners and a $30m pre-money seed valuation. One design partner will not pay until a key integration is built; a direct…

An investment-committee follow-up when a compelling seed company has little revenue history.

A developer-tools company has a strong technical founder, 12 active design partners, no paid revenue, and is raising at a $24m pre-money valuation. How would you decide whether that price is…

Every deck claims a large TAM; the analyst's job is to test it.

A founder claims a $50bn TAM. How do you test that, and why does market size matter so much in venture?

Portfolio associates are expected to explain simple cap-table changes clearly to founders and investment partners.

A portfolio company has 8.0m fully diluted shares before a financing and needs to create a 400,000-share option refresh immediately before the round. Calculate the dilution to existing holders from…

Portfolio-team interviews test whether you can make a board meeting useful rather than merely reportable.

You are helping a Series A founder prepare the monthly board pack. What must it contain, and what should stay out?

A senior portfolio judgement question about price, structure and fiduciary discipline.

A portfolio company cannot raise at its last valuation. The founder asks existing investors to lead a flat round with aggressive preferences. What do you recommend?

Tests whether you understand that headline valuation and actual economics diverge.

A company raises $100m at a $1bn post-money with a 1x non-participating preference. It later sells for $400m. What do the investors and common holders receive? Then explain how the answer changes with…

Tests whether you know which terms are economic and which are control.

Beyond valuation, which term sheet provisions matter most? Separate the economic terms from the control terms.

The hardest recurring decision in venture, and a strong test of judgement.

A portfolio company is burning cash, growth has stalled, and the founder asks for a bridge. How do you decide?

Management assessment is critical to buy-side investing. This tests judgment of leadership.

What framework do you use to assess management quality, and what are the red flags that indicate poor management?

Moat analysis is core to buy-side investing. This tests understanding of sustainable competitive advantages.

What framework do you use to assess competitive moats, and how do you determine whether a moat is sustainable?

Earnings quality is critical to avoid value traps. This tests forensic accounting skills.

What metrics and red flags do you look at to assess the quality of reported earnings? How do you distinguish high-quality from low-quality earnings?

Value vs growth is a fundamental investment debate. This tests portfolio construction philosophy.

How do you think about the value versus growth trade-off in portfolio construction? When do you prefer one style over the other?

Sell discipline is as important as buy discipline. This tests portfolio management skills.

What are your sell criteria, and how do you distinguish between temporary volatility and a deteriorating thesis?

A partnership-level case that tests capital allocation discipline after an initial growth investment.

You own 8% of a portfolio company. It proposes a new round to fund international expansion, and you can invest pro rata to maintain ownership. How do you decide whether to follow on?