What this teaches
Sequoia's actual 2005 YouTube Series A memo, made public through the Viacom lawsuit: written when YouTube was two months old with no CEO and no business plan, it shows how a top firm underwrote a raw, risky deal.
Why it matters
An unedited look (court-ordered, not PR-curated) at how one of the best venture investments ever was actually justified internally.
Key lessons
- Great early deals are underwritten on usage signal and team, not plans
- Every risk in your company will be listed in the memo; that doesn't kill the deal
- Investors buy trajectory at a moment in time
Sequoia Capital
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