Should Founders Discount for Sequoia and Benchmark?
Harrison Chase says taking money from Benchmark changes a company's trajectory completely, and a discount is absolutely worth it for Sequoia and for Benchmark. On other tier one firms, a discount is only probably worth it, and Sequoia and Benchmark are the firms he has actually worked with.
The Benchmark partnership invested when the company was two people, and he treated the firm like a third co-founder. The team is now about 400 people, and Benchmark has been the most consistent partner on the journey from two people to that size. He is not a venture investor and has never done venture capital. Other market dynamics probably matter as well, because a strong Benchmark round sends a signal. Sequoia joined two months or three months after the Benchmark round and has been a tremendous partner too. The partner from Sequoia is one of the most plugged in people in the space.
Benchmark spends more time on the core nucleus of the company and acts as a sounding board for company building and positioning. Sequoia helps with everything and works like a machine: recruiting ICs and executives, plus marketing and launches. A lot of candidates, including very strong ones, have come from Sequoia references and Sequoia's talent network, and the help works.
