How could this be perceived as anything but a massive failure in today’s world? Would Stripe even be investable today? Which investors would ever think that only launching after two years of work and with 50 users would ever be the beginning of something gigantic? I can’t see how anybody would be happy with this today. And yet, almost imperceptibly, Patrick and John were painstakingly laying the foundation for something that was built to last and built to grow strong and immovable like a Sequoia. How can mushroom growth rates produce anything other than mushroom longevity? I’m not saying that real value CAN’T be built quickly. But I think it’s far more common than we like to talk about that founders work for two, three, four, seven, even fifteen years before something extremely valuable is born into the world and really takes off. James Dyson worked on the design of his vacuum cleaner for 5 years before he got to a working prototype and 8 years before it became a commercial product. Dylan Field worked on Figma for four years before launching a *closed* beta. Tim Leatherman worked on his idea and prototype for 8 years before he had his first multitool design that was ready to sell. Palmer Luckey spent about 7 years from the time he began working on VR prototypes before Oculus released the first consumer headset. Jensen Huang started Nvidia in 1993 and it wasn’t until 4 years later in 1997 that they had their first major commercial success with the RIVA 128. Steve Wozniak was the fastest and went from an idea for a personal computer in 1975 to the Apple II release 2 years later in 1977. Time and again the reality is that great things take time to build. I’m not saying it doesn’t take hard work. I’m definitely not saying it doesn’t take determination and extreme focus. But it does take time. I think we try and pretend that it doesn’t take time and lift up the seeming exceptions to the rule. Why not be honest and instead focus on the determination and extreme grit that it takes to keep building for years before any outward success arises or glory is received? I hope we can be honest with young founders and repeat these stories again and again so that they learn to work thanklessly for years before the outward vindication comes, because that’s what it really takes.

Two of our worst VC stories: 1. A Sequoia partner passed on Cloudflare because he didn’t think a woman could lead a security infrastructure company. Seriously. 🙄 2. I got introduced to @pmarca. Meeting got scheduled for a Monday, which should have been a clue. I thought it was just a casual meeting. He thought it was a pitch and brought the whole @a16z partnership team. Hilarity ensued. 🤪 At one point one of them said: “You don’t seem very prepared.” Which was true because I wasn’t. I framed the rejection letter they sent.

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