Scale of Ambition: Notes from a Sequoia Afternoon

It’s 5:30 AM on the last day of January 2025, and I’m writing this fueled by memories rather than coffee.?My hands still smell faintly of Buck's famous onion rings—not just any onion rings, but Jason Calacanis "JCal's Onion Rings," a menu item ten years in the making at Bucks of Woodside . Two days ago, I was sitting in the Sequoia Capital 's conference room as LAUNCH LA33's "mystery" 12th founder, despite technically being from LA32. But this isn't just another Silicon Valley story.

The Three Leaps

They say lightning never strikes twice. My journey proves otherwise:

2023: Dreaming in ATX ( Antler ) Picture this: A software guy in Austin who didn't know his term sheet from his termsheet. Antler ATX4 wasn't just an accelerator; it was my first glimpse into the founder's maze. Between whiteboard sessions and customer discovery sprints, I learned the language of startups.

2024: Taking Flight ( LAUNCH ) Enter LA32. Seven companies, countless pivots, and one Jason Calacanis believing in Layerpath . This wasn't just about launching a product; it was about launching a vision. Our first demos, our first users, our first "holy shit, this might actually work" moments.

2025: Accelerating Reality ( a16z speedrun ) Now, four weeks into Speedrun (SR004), each day feels like drinking from a firehose of knowledge. But yesterday was different. Wednesday was about coming full circle.

The Sequoia Session

The air was different at Sequoia Capital. Maybe it was the knowledge that Google's first checks were signed in these rooms, or maybe it was Jason Calacanis showing up despite being under the weather he wouldn't miss this.

Eleven incredible companies took the stage, each solving ambitious problems:

• Prandtl Dynamics Inc. : Making waves in counter-drone technology with their innovative sound-based defense system
• Hookhub : Revolutionizing RV parking with a marketplace connecting 11.2M RV owners with landowners
• InviteJet : Transforming marketing with calendar invites (4x better than traditional email!)
• Abacus.AI : Bringing AI to regulated industries with on-premise solutions
• Prosperous AI : Optimizing supply chains with AI-driven insights
• LayerNext : Building AI-powered strategic intelligence for business decision-making
• Nerd Crawler : Creating an auction marketplace for comic book artists
• Orchestra : Unifying team communication and productivity
• Pod Engine : Processing 1M podcasts daily for intelligence and insights
• BRXai : Revolutionizing how AI agents are built and deployed
• Indigo AI : Making AI accessible for small businesses

+1 Layerpath : Helping enterprise teams scale content with AI-powered interactive demos

But it was Roelof Botha 's sailing analogy that stuck with me:

"Companies are like sailing boats that need to tack. You think you're going this way, but they need to turn 30 degrees this way, and then 15 degrees back."

Buck's: Where Silicon Valley's Past Meets Its Future

After the pitches, we headed to Buck's of Woodside. If Silicon Valley had a Hogwarts, this would be its Great Hall. The walls tell stories of PayPal 's early meetings, Tesla 's first discussions, and now, they'll tell the story of the day LA33 came to town.

I ordered JCal's Onion Rings – a testament to persistence if there ever was one. Ten years of feedback and countless visits, and now they're on the menu. It's a small thing, but it perfectly encapsulates what makes Silicon Valley tick: persistence, iteration, and knowing your customer.

What I Learned About Scale

1. Ambition Isn't Linear: Roelof's question about scale wasn't about numbers; it was about vision. The best founders think in decades, not quarters.
2. Customer Obsession Takes Time: Sometimes it takes ten years to get the onion rings right. But when you do, they name them after you.
3. Three Accelerators, One Truth:?Antler taught me to dream, LAUNCH taught me to build, and a16z is teaching me to scale.
4. The Valley's Secret Sauce:?It's not just about the code or the capital. It's about the collisions—the serendipitous meetings, the shared meals, and the stories that become legends.

Looking Ahead

As January ends and I enter my fifth week in the Valley, I'm reminded of something Jason Calacanis said between coughs: "You need to have a receive channel." In startup terms, that means listening – to customers, to mentors, to the whispers of history in places like Buck's.

We're all pathfinders in our own way. Whether you're a founder in ATX4 just starting to dream, an LA33 company preparing to take flight, or somewhere in between, remember: scale of ambition isn't just about how big you can get – it's about how many people you can help along the way.

Here's to the dreamers, the builders, and yes, even the persistent customers who know exactly how they want their onion rings.

Your fellow pathfinder,

Vinay C.

P.S. Thanks to the incredible LA33 crew for adopting this LA32 straggler. Special shoutout to Jason Calacanis for showing up despite feeling terrible – your dedication to founders is unmatched.

What's your take on the the scale of ambition? How do you balance vision with execution? Leave a comment or send me a direct message—I'd love to hear your thoughts!