Sequoia Not Valentine on the Door

"Justifiably, much has been made of the fact that Don chose the world’s largest and longest living redwood as the name for our business rather than stamping his own name on the front door. It conveyed the longevity and strength with the realism of someone who had seen what happens when people want vanity billing. We were thus able to avoid a plague that has beset other firms – the inevitable second-class citizen status attached to anyone whose name is not on the door."

"He had scant regard for the heads of hedge funds who hog all the economics or the titans of the private equity industry who believe that the sun only rises when they get out of bed. He thought there was more than enough money to get spread around and saw little reason to heighten tensions and jealousies by having sizeable pay disparities including between himself and others. He understood the absurdity of our compensation schemes and would often say we would have to be NBA All-Stars to do as well."