# Sequoias Gospel of Startups More True Than Ever - Host: [techcrunch.com](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/hosts/techcrunch.com/) - Saved: March 20, 2008 (2008-03-20T09:44:59Z) - Record: https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/825bf72edff2/ - JSON: https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/825bf72edff2.json ## From the page (probably an excerpt, not Jamie's words) If you are an entrepreneur seeking a moment of clarity, there is no better place to start than Sequoia Capitals Elements of Sustainable Companies. Its not new - these are the principles that have driven Sequoias investment strategies for decades. But today, with troubled financial markets beginning to spread cancer-like into Silicon Valley and venture capitalists starting to pull back from two plus years of carefree spending, startups have little wiggle room for error. This list is a beacon to help guide startups through their most common early mistakes. We were reminded of the list recently when one of our interns, Bryan Scott, wrote an article talking about how important those ideas are to him. I informally polled some of my entrepreneur friends yesterday and today and was surprised at how few of them had read the list. These principles are not for every new business, but they are certainly the key drivers of success for any startup looking for venture capital to drive growth. Ive talked about some of these ideas in past posts, but nothing hits home quite as powerfully as a simple list, written by the venture firm that funded startups like Apple, Google, Yahoo, Cisco Systems, Oracle, PayPal and YouTube. Being able to put a check mark next to each item below certainly doesnt ensure success. But ignoring them is a sure way to fail. I consider this essential reading for any aspiring entrepreneur, along with The Man In The Arena. Elements of Sustainable Companies Start-ups with these characteristics often foretells the success of a business and the likelihood of it becoming a sustainable, enduring company. We like to partner with companies that have: Clarity of Purpose Summarize the companys business on the back of a business card. Large Markets Address existing markets poised for rapid growth or change. A market on the path to a $1B potential allows for error and time for real margins to develop. Rich Customers Target customers who will move fast and pay a premium for a unique offering. Focus Customers will only buy a simple product with a singular value proposition. Pain Killers Pick the one thing that is of burning importance to the customer then delight them with a compelling solution. Think Differently Constantly challenge conventional wisdom. Take the contrarian route. Create novel solutions. Outwit the competition. Team DNA A companys DNA is set in the first 90 days. All team members are the smartest or most clever in their domain. A level founders attract an A level team. Agility Stealth and speed will usually help beat-out large companies. Frugality Focus spending on whats critical. Spend only on the priorities and maximize profitability. Inferno Start with only a little money. It forces discipline and focus. A huge market with customers yearning for a product developed by great engineers requires very little firepower. Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware. ## Facts - Kind: [Page](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/kinds/page/) ## Same host - [Google Maps, Wiki-Style](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/aefb9f485f08/) (techcrunch.com, March 18, 2008) - [More Bloggers Raising Money. Here Come The Politics. And Here Comes My Rant.](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/037326e54729/) (techcrunch.com, March 19, 2008) - [LinkedIn, Now For Companies](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/f94882c53885/) (techcrunch.com, March 21, 2008) - [2,433 Unread Emails Is An Opportunity For An Entrepreneur](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/0e1427428fa2/) (techcrunch.com, March 23, 2008) - [Quotably: The Perfect Tool To Make Sense Of Twitter](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/7ecbd1f1bb7c/) (techcrunch.com, March 24, 2008) ## Saved the same week - [Newspapers Weigh in on Obama's Speech](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/1bdbc2539e52/) (dailykos.com, March 19, 2008) - [Apple updates Time Machine and Airport - Now working together](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/f7dc2e7bb991/) (9to5mac.com, March 19, 2008) - [Twitter Your Signature](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/43b23809f123/) (blog.twitter.com, March 20, 2008) - [NYP Shuts Down PageSix Standalone Site After Less Than Four Months](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/a737431d9bd4/) (gigaom.com, March 20, 2008) - [Information Arbitrage: The Bear Necessities](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/6205a043ff88/) (informationarbitrage.com, March 20, 2008) ## Elsewhere - Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://techcrunch.com/2008/03/20/sequoias-gospel-of-startups-more-true-than-ever/