by Wolf Richter
Wolf Street
“False optimism can easily lead you astray and prevent you from making contingency plans or taking bold action.”
Sequoia Capital — one of the most prominent and most experienced venture capital firms that has seen its share of blowups — sent a “Black Swan” memo to the founders and CEOs of the startups it is funding. Back in 2008, as the Financial Crisis was starting to take stuff down, it had put the founders and CEOs of its portfolio companies through a presentation, titled “R.I.P. Good Times,” with the purpose of preparing the leaders of these startup companies for what was to come so that their companies could survive. This time, the memo, published on Medium, is titled: “Coronavirus: The Black Swan of 2020.”