Sequoia

Miniature venture funds are operating at select Silicon Valley private schools, receiving parent-investors from major firms like Sequoia and Lightspeed. These school programs, described as a recent trend, have seen high returns, such as one fund turning $15,000 into roughly $34 million at an IPO for Saint Francis High School. With anticipated IPOs from companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, these school funds may hold significant investment potential.

Some Silicon Valley private schools are raising funds by building miniature venture capital funds instead of traditional galas. These funds accept donations from alumni and parent-investors, using expertise from firms like Lightspeed and Sequoia to invest in pre-IPO tech companies. Saint Francis High School pioneered this method with a major investment in Snap that returned substantial profits when the company went public.

The SpaceX IPO marks a significant win for venture capital firms like Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Valor Equity Partners, and DFJ Growth, which invested in the company over the years. The IPO highlights a decades-long shift in VC scaling, with SpaceX's valuation reaching nearly $1.8 trillion.

Mercor’s Brendan Foody criticizes Sequoia for using 'dual-pricing' valuation tactics. The article states Sequoia is among top firms that sell identical equity at differing prices.

Silicon Valley founders are sharing negative experiences with venture capitalists on social media, including stories of investors falling asleep during meetings and making sexist remarks. Examples include Greg Isenberg describing a general partner sleeping through a pitch and Matthew Prince recounting a Sequoia partner dismissing Cloudflare's co-founders.