Competition: always a good thing.
“Follow your instincts” was the terse, three-word suggestion I received 25 years ago from Don Valentine, the Founder of Sequoia Capital. Since then it has been etched in the back of my mind. Don was offering advice about whether we should participate in the seed round for S3, a graphics chipset company in which Sequoia Capital invested in 1989 and where I had been charged with coming up with a recommendation for people who had forgotten more about semiconductors than I was ever going to learn. As always, th
“Follow your instincts” shouldn’t be confused with “trust your gut”, “ignore reality”, “rely on your sniffer” or “go for glory”. The rough translation is “do your homework well, analyze things carefully, assess the options but eventually trust your judgment and have the courage of your convictions – even if they are unpopular”. This means swimming against the tide and being prepared to feel lonely. It’s an approach that works – especially with venture capital. Applied appropriately, "Follow your instincts”