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Sequoia ends its scout program as the firm seeks a narrower focus
TechCrunch reports Sequoia is shutting its founder-scout program as part of a broader overhaul, while some former scouts say the model still shaped early-stage investing.
- New headline Was: “Sequoia shutting down its Scouts program marks the end of an era”
- Our desk filed its story
Sequoia Capital is shutting down its long-running scout program as part of a broader overhaul announced this week, according to TechCrunch1.
The same overhaul includes closing the firm's London office, TechCrunch reported, citing a Sequoia memo posted to X1. The outlet said Sequoia did not make a case against scouts in that memo and instead described a need for more focus, including putting more energy behind fewer people and things1.
About 17 years ago Sequoia pioneered a model in which selected founders and operators write checks on the firm's behalf, TechCrunch said, and other venture firms later copied it amid competition for deal flow1.
Some investors were never convinced. Venture capitalist Sheel Mohnot, quoted by TechCrunch from a post on X, said the program never made sense to him, that scouts may not care much about the investments, and that firms can still miss deals, as Sequoia did with Uber; he expected other firms might close similar programs1.
Andreessen Horowitz, which built a global scout network, has already changed its approach, TechCrunch reported. Partner Gabriel Vasquez told the outlet earlier this year that the firm was doubling down on its best people, giving remaining scouts more budget while reducing their number and expecting more activity such as co-hosting dinners1.
For founders, scout roles can mean closer ties to firms that may later invest or hire them, TechCrunch said1. Station F chief Roxanne Varza, a Sequoia scout from 2020 to 2025, wrote on LinkedIn that she was sad to hear the program was ending and hoped other funds would not follow, the outlet reported1.
Varza told TechCrunch she had no information beyond public statements and said scout programs had often been a stepping stone into investment jobs by building a track record and fund relationships1. "I believe they have helped to foster the investment culture and early-stage investment landscape that we now see in Europe," she said1.
TechCrunch argued two pressures may still shrink the model: operators can keep more upside investing as angels with their own money, and large, well-known firms now worry less about missing inbound deals except at the earliest stages or in niches1. Varza said venture partner-style arrangements are still likely to continue even if Sequoia's scaled scout format ends1.
