Sequoia Capital polishes it’s reputation with WhatsApp deal

Sequoia has proved remarkably tenacious, in a firm where people constantly come and go. In an era when venture firms must beat back challenges from individual investors known as “angels” and crowd funding, its big win takes on particular significance; new technology that makes the early stages of investments less crucial than they once were; and critics who say that venture capital investments aren’t worth the trouble.

The acquisition deal was announced by Facebook. The price it paid for the service took many people by complete surprise. The service is growing rapidly at 1 million users on a daily basis. Sequoia made 3 billion US Dollars from WhatsApp, which invested 60 million US Dollars. This information was gathered from a source that knows the situation well. Facebook bought photo-sharing service Instagram, in 2012 for 1.01 billion. Sequoia also backed this.

Contrastingly, Accel Partners, held 7.64 billion US Dollars, worth of Facebook shares in 2012, in the time of that company’s IPO. They are the biggest venture investor in Facebook. Don Valentine launched Sequoia in 1972. He was also one of the founders of National Semicondutor. Sequoia went from strength to strength, funding internationally known companies like Apple Inc, Oracle Corp, Paypal, and Google Inc.

David Rusenko, co-founder of web-hosting service Weebly said, “We were so excited to meet with them, Sequoia is the gold standard, as far as we were concerned.”

Silicon Valley impresario Sean Parker does not hold that view. He blames Sequoia for the downfall of his online address company, Plaxo. Other people complain that the company is too hard-nosed when it comes to negotiating, and it has missed out on some big guns, such as Twitter.

Goetz told the Press, “The notion of them marching up and down Sand Hill with a Powerpoint deck is comical,” He was referring to WhatsApp founders Jan Koum, and Brian Acton. They have been cultivated by him since 2010, after which the closing of Sequoia’s first investment followed.

Goetz, has a master’s degree in computer systems. He is also the co-founder of the health company Vital Signs. Jive Software co-founder, Matt Tucker recalls the following about Goetz, “He clearly was the most intelligent about our market, and had done better research.”

“In no way would you confuse Goetz as a tender-hearted cuddly bear,” Tucker said. In the venture capital industry, it is of great urgency to stay focused at all times. As a direct result of foggy view, results have disappointed. The industry has raised less money, according to the National Venture Capital Association, just 16.7 billion US Dollars last year compared with 25.93 billion US Dollars in 2012.

According to regulatory filings, it raised 1.17 billion US dollars last year, for three funds, including 533 million US Dollars for its flagship Sequoia Capital XIV.