Crucible Moments Sequoia Capital

CEO Jensen Huang tells the legendary story of Nvidia, from the company’s early days pioneering 3D graphics cards for a niche PC gaming market to powering the AI revolution as the sixth most valuable company in the world. Nvidia faced multiple near-death experiences along the way, and their so-called “diving catches,” as Jensen calls them, were some of the most dramatic business stories of the modern era.  

Host: Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital 
Featuring: Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, Andrew Ng, Mark A. Stevens, Alfred Lin, 
Transcript: https://www.sequoiacap.com/podcast/crucible-moments-nvidia/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Millions of customers have explored their genome with 23andMe. But when the company started in 2006, the idea of consumer DNA testing was heresy to the medical establishment. The FDA once even ordered 23andMe to stop selling its health testing product. The company persevered to make allies out of adversaries, and became the only FDA-approved product on the market. Learn how 23andMe defined the DNA testing category, and used its success to enter the massive new field of drug discovery.   

Host: Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital 
Featuring: Anne Wojcicki, Richard Scheller 
Transcript: https://www.sequoiacap.com/podcast/crucible-moments-23andMe/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Co-founders Hosain Rahman and Alex Asseily, and Chief Creative Officer Yves Behar, recount the meteoric rise and fall of Jawbone. One of the most innovative companies of the mid 2000s, Jawbone pioneered wearable technology with UP, the first wrist-worn fitness tracker, and revolutionized sound with Jambox, the first smart wireless speaker. In one of the most dramatic turns in Silicon Valley history, the company went from a nearly $4 billion valuation to liquidation. This cautionary tale provides valuable lessons that are more relevant now than ever.

Host: Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital 
Featuring: Hosain Rahman, Alex Asseily, Yves Behar
Transcript: https://www.sequoiacap.com/podcast/crucible-moments-jawbone/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah reveal how they took a blog started as a hobby and turned the ideas behind it into a $20+ billion success. In 2006, HubSpot upended traditional approaches to marketing by taking advantage of the the nascent internet in a new way: By capitalizing on seach engines and social media, they offered a way to pull customers in rather than pushing ads and mailers out. They coined the new category “inbound marketing.” They continued to defy conventional wisdom, deciding to serve small businesses over big enterprises, and taking on a Goliath in a new category. As the founders explain, zigging where others zag is the key to their success.  

Host: Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital 
Featuring: Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah, Pat Grady, Dannie Herzberg
Transcript: https://www.sequoiacap.com/podcast/crucible-moments-hubspot/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens to an events company when every event is canceled? “Even if you have spent 14 years building something, it could truly be gone in 14 days.” After working tirelessly to revolutionize how live events are organized, this was the reality Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz faced in March of 2020 as pandemic lockdowns went into effect, extinguishing the lifeblood of her business. She brought the same strategic thinking and grit that had led the company through its previous inflection points to rally her team and reinvent Eventbrite in the middle of a global shutdown. 

Host: Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital 
Featuring: Julia Hartz, Kevin Hartz
Transcript: https://www.sequoiacap.com/podcast/crucible-moments-eventbrite/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CEO Jack Dorsey reflects on Block’s origins and defining moments with host Roelof Botha. 
Dorsey founded Square in 2009 with a clear vision: economic empowerment for all. Their dongle that turns iPhones into credit card readers was just the start. With Square, small business owners were able to reach more customers and better manage their companies. But when Cash App, which emerged from an internal hackathon, started to gain traction, Square had a decision to make: stick to their core focus, or risk building an unproven product for consumers? Dorsey explains how Block succeeded by weaving new products around a core vision, and how a controversial shift in strategy led them to fully deliver on their founding mission.  

Host: Roelof Botha, Managing Partner of Sequoia Capital 
Featuring: Jack Dorsey, Alyssa Henry, Brian Grassadonia
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices