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cover of episode #1: Sequoia’s Doug Leone: Trauma, Hardship, Purpose, and Silicon Valley’s Top Firm

#1: Sequoia’s Doug Leone: Trauma, Hardship, Purpose, and Silicon Valley’s Top Firm

2025/3/5
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Doug Leone: 我从小在意大利长大，11岁时随父亲移民到美国，家庭背景并不富裕。我在11到17岁期间经历了严重的创伤，这些经历塑造了我今天的性格和成功。我认为犯错并从中学习是保持活力的关键。许多成功的人都经历过最艰难的时刻，经历过极端痛苦的人，往往会有一种无法摆脱的动力。我决定不让我的孩子经历我曾经的黑暗和痛苦，而是通过早期给他们责任感的培养，帮助他们建立奋斗精神。我不认为自己已经成功，我仍在不断进步。

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Doug Leone's journey from immigrating to the US at age 11 to becoming a global leader at Sequoia Capital is marked by resilience and overcoming trauma. He shares how early struggles shaped his competitive nature and instilled a strong work ethic, influencing his leadership style and approach to mentoring.
  • Early childhood trauma shaped Leone's drive and competitive spirit.
  • He attributes his success to overcoming hardship and developing resilience.
  • His leadership style emphasizes high performance and teamwork.

Shownotes Transcript

Doug Leone believes that the toughest challenges create the strongest people. From immigrating to the U.S. at age 11 and struggling through his teenage years to becoming the global leader of Sequoia Capital, Doug’s journey is filled with hard-earned lessons on resilience, success, and leadership.

Who is Doug Leone?

Doug Leone is a billionaire venture capitalist and former Global Managing Partner at Sequoia Capital. He joined Sequoia in 1988 and became a managing partner in 1996, later taking on the global managing role in 2012. Throughout his career, Doug has played a pivotal role in backing companies like ServiceNow, Nubank, Wiz, Airbnb, RingCentral, and Palo Alto Networks, while also leading Sequoia’s expansion into China and India. Before joining Sequoia, he worked in sales and management roles at Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, and Prime Computer.

In this episode of Divot, we explore:

  • Why early struggles shape the most successful people
  • The hardest moments of Doug’s career—and how he turned them into wins
  • How Sequoia built one of the strongest VC cultures in Silicon Valley
  • What great founders have in common
  • The mindset needed to win in business and life

Doug helped shape companies like ServiceNow, Nubank, Wiz, and Aruba Networks. Now, he’s sharing what he’s learned so you can apply it, too.

Episode Partners:

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