Circle the Cash Balance in Green

"Don’s favorite form of communication was a handwritten note penned in green ink. When Electronic Arts had fallen behind plan and its burn rate had climbed, Don took the company’s most recent balance sheet, circled the entry for the cash balance, and wrote in the margin ‘6 months of cash left.’ This he then mailed to Trip Hawkins, Electronic Arts’ CEO."

"He would clamp onto burn rates and the line in the income statement that he would always circle in green would be G&A, which nowadays seems ironic given how crucial a role many people working in these functions have for Sequoia."

"As for investment results he was a fan of two things: large amounts of gain and very high multiples. Though he understood the personal benefits, he thought any goon with a spreadsheet could double a large amount of money but believed it took real talent to consistently deliver high multiples of money. The shenanigans of the leveraged buyout business with all its financial hokey-pokey left him cold."