I very rarely write blogs outside Tech., This blog is my experience with Sequoia Capital (investor in both MinervaDB and ChistaDATA); during the worst scenario, any business owner/Founder/CEO can be in. Yes, We have massive exposure in Silicon Valley Bank. Last week was the toughest for many people (founders/investors/employees/SVB teams ) associated with SVB as the bank collapsed(https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-03-13-2023/card/bear-then-svb-now–zCsamZm9zPc7IrkHrUyP) on concise notice. None of the depositors was able even to access their bank accounts.
For the first 5 minutes, I was like, we have to use funds from other group companies now (in other bank accounts) to run operational expenses. This also means we have to plan what is next with the investment funds we have budgeted for with our SVB deposits. I thought we would discuss all these with my board member Anandmoy Roychowdhary aka Roy(https://www.sequoiacap.com/india/people/anandamoy-roychowdhary/) in the next few days as he was getting married and never wanted to disturb him with all these on his wedding date. But, What happened next was the least expected. Roy pinged me and confirmed we are with you in this; you focus on running the business and leave the rest to us. Sequoia will take care of all your fund requirements, so don’t worry about cash to operate/run the business. This was such a relief. In the next few minutes, Sidhant Goyal (https://www.sequoiacap.com/india/people/sidhant-goyal/) called me to explain everything in detail and what will be next. Technically, Sidhant manages the Matrix operations of ChistaDATA, and that’s a huge support for me. He was continuously sharing all the updates from research analyst firms and assuring us it would not be a write-off of our funds. What a huge relief! After a few hours, Shailendra Singh(https://www.sequoiacap.com/india/people/shailendra-singh/) pinged me to guarantee I have everything available to run both companies, and there is no reason to get worried; Sequoia Capital is handling all these so I can operate business as usual. All this support in less than four hours after the SVB collapse news was out. Nothing more an entrepreneur can ask for during these testing times.
I am personally associated with the Sequoia Capital team for almost 8 years; They are always available when I need them the most. It could be strategic, funding, operational guidance and even customer introduction/endorsements. Thanks, everyone at Sequoia Captial, for the support!
Running a business is very tough. It is even more complicated when things happen that you have no control over. It is so much of a relief when your investor calls you (even when it is a weekend) and confirms that. don’t worry; we are in this with you, and whatever you need will be provided on priority. This is the actual fuel every entrepreneur will ask for. The relationship with founders is beyond investments. It’s about making sure the businesses are not affected and being hands-on when the sea is rough.
