How to pitch Sequoia Capital
Write to one partner, and get there through a person that partner already trusts. The pitch takes an afternoon; finding that person is the real work.
By Jerry Feng, Growth at Happenstance. Updated August 31, 2026.
The short version
Choose one partner at Sequoia Capital and get to them through a person that partner already trusts. Venture firms back the companies that come to them through people they know, and the person they trust most is a founder they've funded, so the first email that works is the one such a founder forwards with a line of their own on top. Which means the task before the pitch is a search: which founder you know has raised from Sequoia, who else around you is tied to the firm, and which friend can introduce you to them. Happenstance runs that search over the accounts you've already got, from a single question.
Write to a partner, not to the firm
Sequoia Capital backs companies from the earliest stage through growth, across software, consumer and infrastructure, and like most firms it decides partner by partner. Its seed and early-stage partners publish direct addresses on their team pages, and Arc, the firm's periodic open call, is a second route while a call is open. Even with an address in hand, though, a partner reads the email a founder they've backed forwards before the one that arrives cold, so the investor whose companies look like yours is the target and the founder who can forward you is the way in.
Above everyone else, a partner trusts the founders they've funded. Then come people who've worked at the firm, other investors who've shared a deal with them and the friends of any of those. Several are probably in your network already, a step or two out, and the question worth answering is who among them you could reach in the next few days.
Finding your path to Sequoia Capital
Founders Sequoia has backed. An old colleague who went on to raise from Sequoia, a founder you shared a stage with, or a customer whose company took Sequoia money. One forward from any of them does more than the best subject line you could write to a stranger.
People at or around the firm. The investment team counts, and so do former employees, the operators the firm keeps close and any friend of yours who knows one of them.
Happenstance. Happenstance searches whichever accounts you connect, Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, Google Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, and the networks of the friends you've added, and answers in plain English. Ask who you know who's raised from Sequoia, or who you know at the firm, and you get the people back with how well you know each one, which account the tie came from and, for anyone a friend knows, the friend who can introduce you. Happenstance is free. The free plan is the whole product, with usage limits on chat and web searches beyond your network. Pro raises the limits: unlimited web searches and results, higher chat limits, and CSV export. What the full raise looks like run this way, first search to term sheet, is on Happenstance for fundraising.
The ask
Write to the founder first; the investor comes later. Ask for one forward and name the partner you're after, then include the paragraph you'd like sent on, so that saying yes takes them about thirty seconds.
Subject: Intro to [partner] at Sequoia
What Happenstance can see
Email is read as headers only. Message content and attachments never reach our servers. Yes. Your connections are searchable only by you, the friends you accept, and the groups you join, and sharing is always mutual. Your public profile shows a constellation of named people you know by default, which you can turn off anytime. We never share, sell, or use your data to train AI models. Happenstance is SOC 2 certified and DTI Trust Level 2; the full list of what is stored and for how long is on the security page.
Frequently asked questions
Should I email Sequoia Capital directly or go through a partner?
Go to a partner, and if you can, through somebody who can hand your name to them. Sequoia's seed and early-stage partners publish their addresses, so a cold email is possible; a forward from a founder that partner has backed still lands with a reason to be read, and the cold one lands without it. Choose the investor whose portfolio resembles your company, then work out the shortest path to them.
What if I don't know anyone connected to Sequoia Capital?
Somebody in your network almost certainly does. Founders you know who've raised from Sequoia are a single introduction away, as are people who've worked there and the friends of either group. Happenstance searches your accounts and your friends' networks together, so "who do I know who's raised from Sequoia" comes back with those people and the mutual who can make the introduction.
What should the first email to a Sequoia Capital partner contain?
A paragraph a founder could forward unedited: the company in one sentence, the figure that shows it's working, the round and who's in so far, plus the reason this investor in particular should read it. Stay under a hundred and fifty words with nothing attached; the deck follows once they ask for it.
How does Happenstance help me reach Sequoia Capital?
Connect the accounts you already use, Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, Google Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, then ask who you know who's raised from Sequoia, or who you know at the firm. Every result tells you how well you know the person and which account the tie came from, and when a friend is the link, it names the friend who can introduce you. Happenstance is free; Pro raises the limits.
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