Introducing The Guild: A community of founders building enduring companies

Sequoia Capital India is incredibly excited to launch The Guild -- a program and community designed with, and for, the founding CEOs of some of the most successful growth-stage startups from our portfolio.

While many startups are successful, only a few are able to achieve enduring success for decades. The Guild aims to bring founders together on a regular basis to share their experiences, learn from each other, hear from other world-class speakers, and hopefully make a small difference in their quest to build the world’s most enduring companies. 

We are fortunate to have partnered with many incredible start-ups over the last 14+ years. The Sequoia India and Southeast Asia portfolio currently has 43 companies that each have between $50 million to $1 billion+ in annualized revenues - and many of these startups are growing rapidly. This is a testament to the courage, fortitude and vision of the founders of this region and it is a massive privilege for our team to share the journey with these dentmakers, who are going to shape the future of many industries in our region.

Creating a community of like-minded company builders and category creators, who can learn and grow together, is a powerful way to further unleash their potential.

The program will run over a six-month period. Each group will be small, with 12 to 16 founders, and will have one or two anchor sectors that the founders belong to, so there is a balance of shared context with room for learning. A significant percent of the first cohort of founders will be from the Consumer Internet & Mobile sector. Future cohorts will include founders from SaaS, Fintech, B2B, Consumer and other categories. Founders from the Sequoia India portfolio will be invited to join The Guild as their startups achieve scale.

The Guild will meet twice a month; sessions will include global perspectives on company building, candid founder to founder conversations, and AMA’s with best business leaders and company builders from all over the world. 

At Sequoia Capital India, we are deeply committed to doing everything possible to help our founders build enduring companies. Last year, we launched Surge for seed-stage founders. We relentlessly ask ourselves “how can we help founders succeed”, challenging ourselves to break the mould and try new things. 

The Guild is our new startup, co-created with some of the most innovative and dynamic founders in India and SEA. It’s one more step in the pursuit of our mission to help the daring build legendary companies, from idea to IPO and beyond. We hope this community will play an important role in shaping the journey of many iconic startups in the years to come. 

Disclaimer

The information contained herein may not be reproduced or redistributed in whole or in part, in any format, without the express written approval of Sequoia Capital India Operations II, LLC (“Sequoia India”). The information contained in this article has been prepared by Sequoia India only and is being provided to you for informational purposes. It does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any interests in any fund advised by Sequoia India (such funds, “Sequoia India Funds”) or any other securities. The information in this article is given in summary form and does not purport to be complete. Please also note that the examples in this article are illustrative and do not reflect performance of any particular Sequoia India Fund, or the Sequoia India Funds as a whole. Examples are intended to highlight select companies and events that we feel reflect Sequoia India’s investment strategy as it relates to one or more Sequoia India Funds. Such examples also do not constitute investment recommendations but are intended to provide insights regarding our process and investment decision-making as it relates to one or more Sequoia India Funds. There is no assurance that any Sequoia India Fund will continue to hold the positions described in any example herein or that any Sequoia India Fund will make similar investments in the future. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Any and all forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions that may not prove to be correct and actual future operations, opportunities, or financial performance may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. There is no obligation for Sequoia India to update or alter any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. This article, provided for informational purposes, contains trade secrets, and all content herein is proprietary and confidential; no further dissemination of this document or its contents is permitted without the prior consent of Sequoia India.