Sequoia’s Alfred Lin opens up about his big IPO year and the loss of Tony Hsieh

Happy Tuesday, Term Sheet readers! We have a guest essay from Fortune’s Michal Lev-Ram this morning. I’ll be back tomorrow.

What are the qualities that make a venture capitalist successful? After 15+ years of interviewing VCs in Silicon Valley, I still don’t really know.

Over the last few months, while working on a story about Sequoia Capital partner Alfred Lin, I’ve had the opportunity to pose this question to several founders and investors. Lin—and Sequoia—have had a killer year, which made this a prime moment to profile the normally-low profile VC. Eight of Sequoia’s portfolio companies went public in 2020 (seven IPOs and one SPAC), a roster that included two of the largest IPOs of the year: Airbnb and DoorDash. Lin is on the board of both and, according to CEOs Brian Chesky and Tony Xu, has been an important factor in their success.

Lin also experienced a tragedy right around the time he was enjoying huge wins on the professional side: His former business partner and friend, Zappos founder Tony Hsieh, died unexpectedly in a house fire last November. Lin got his start in investing when he and Hsieh launched Venture Frogs in 1999. One of their first investments, which they ended up running: Zappos. The online marketplace for shoes sold to Amazon in 2009, for $1.2 billion, and Lin joined Sequoia shortly after.

While generalizing about what makes a VC great at his or her job is risky business, I’ll admit that I was surprised by what I heard about Lin from his peers. I was expecting to hear about the former CFO’s operational acumen and analytical prowess—and I did. But when I asked about the key to his success, what most of my sources pointed to was his more emotive skill set, his ability to connect with founders and colleagues at a deep level. That’s the type of description you might have expected to hear about Hsieh, who was known as gregarious and outgoing. Lin, meanwhile, tends to stay in the background and doesn’t talk all that much (at least to reporters!).

“People think it’s scary to talk to Alfred because he seems very reserved and smart and analytical and critical,” Adi Tatarko, the co-founder and CEO of Houzz told me. “But he’s not just super analytical and smart. His EQ is very high. He can apologize. And he truly cares. This is very, very rare.”

Aileen Lee, founder of Cowboy Ventures, also spoke to Lin’s more personal side as a huge asset in his work with founders: “He’s not posting pics of himself on his yacht on Instagram, he keeps a low profile. He remembers where he came from and I think that gives him a lot of empathy.”

Lin joined Airbnb’s board in 2012, after co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky asked Sequoia for Lin to sit on his board. Chesky later asked the investor to stay on as a director, even after the company went public late last year. “He has a poker-faced countenance,” the Airbnb founder told me when asked about what makes his relationship with Lin work so well. “His voice doesn’t inflect very much when he talks. You don’t know how much he likes you when you first meet him. But he’s extremely passionate, and he’s actually emotional.”

Tony Xu, CEO of DoorDash, had a similar spin on Lin: “Alfred is someone who works a lot, and he gets into the numbers and the details and he asks tough questions. If you don’t know him that well, maybe that’s the first impression. But behind the scenes, he is a person who, first and foremost, genuinely cares about the entrepreneur.”

To be sure, being well liked by the entrepreneurs (and investors) a venture capitalist works with isn’t necessarily a harbinger of impressive returns. But at least in Lin’s case, his empathy for founders seems to have solidified his status as one of the most successful VCs to date.

For more on Lin, including how his partnership with Hsieh helped shape his approach to working with entrepreneurs, read my full profile here.

Michal Lev-Ram
Twitter: @mlevram
Email: michal.levram@fortune.com

VENTURE DEALS

- BETA Technologies, a South Burlington, Vt.-based developer of electric aviation tech, raised $368 million. Fidelity Management & Research Company led the round.

- Back Market, a New York City-based refurbished electronics marketplace, raised $335 million in Series D funding. General Atlantic led the round and was joined by investors including Generation Investment Management, Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, Aglaé Ventures, Eurazeo, and daphni.

- Klaviyo, a Boston-based customer data and marketing automation platform, raised $320 million in Series D funding, valuing it around $9.2 billion. Sands Capital led the round Other investors include Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), Whale Rock Capital Management, ClearBridge Investments, Lone Pine Capital, Owl Rock Capital, Glynn Capital, and Keith Block (former co-CEO of Salesforce), Accel and Summit Partners. 

- DailyPay, a New York City-based provider of on-demand pay solutions for enterprises, raised $175 million in Series D funding. Carrick Capital Partners led the round.

- Amount, a Chicago-based technology provider for financial institutions, raised $100 million in Series D funding. Investors included WestCap, Hanaco Ventures, Goldman Sachs, Invus Group, and Barclays US.

- Moglix, an India-based business-to-business marketplace, raised $120 million in Series E funding at a $1 billion valuation. Falcon Edge Capital and Harvard Management led the round and were joined by investors including Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital India, and Venture Highway.

- Goldbelly, a New York City-based maker of a food e-commerce platform, raised $100 million in Series C funding. Spectrum Equity led the round and was joined by investors including Intel Capital.

- Vedere Bio II, a Cambridge, Mass.-based maker of ocular gene therapies, raised $77 million in Series A funding. Octagon Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Samsara BioCapital, Casdin Capital, Atlas Venture, Mission BioCapital and the RD Fund.

- Interius BioTherapeutics, a Philadelphia-based preclinical-stage gene therapy company developing a platform for in vivo cell-specific gene delivery, raised $76 million in Series A funding. Cormorant Asset Management and Fairmount Funds led the round and were joined by investors including Bain Capital Life Sciences, Pfizer Ventures, RA Capital Management, Longwood Fund, Logos Capital, Osage University Partners and Quan Capital.

- Explorium, a San Mateo, Calif.-based data science platform, raised $75 million in Series C funding. Insight Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Zeev Ventures, Emerge, F2 Venture Capital, 01 Advisors, and Dynamic Loop Capital.

- Betterworks, a New York City-based maker of strategy execution software for enterprise companies, raised $61 million from current investors. 

- Thunes, a Singapore-based fintech company that connects payment players, raised $60 million in Series B funding. Insight Partners led the round.

- Atonarp, a Tokyo-based manufacturer of molecular sensing and diagnostics products, raised $50 million in Series D funding. WRVI Capital led the round.

- Copper, a London-based digital asset infrastructure provider, raised $50 million in Series B funding. Dawn Capital and Target Global led the round and were joined by investors including Illuminate Financial Management, LocalGlobe and MMC Ventures.

- Sparrow Pharmaceuticals, a Portland, Ore.-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for disorders of corticosteroid excess, raised $50 million in Series A funding. OrbiMed led the round and was joined by investors including RiverVest Venture Partners and U.S. Venture Partners.

- Jerry, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based online insurance brokerage, raised $28 million in Series B funding. Goodwater Capital led the round.

- SymphonyRM, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based healthcare tech company, raised $25 million in Series B funding. TT Capital Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Adams Street Partners. 

- Artificial, a Palo Alto-based software company with a lab automation platform, raised $21.5 million in Series A funding. M12 led the round and was joined by investors including Playground Global and AME Ventures. 

- Coiled, a New York-based machine-learning and A.I. data company, raised $21 million in funding. Bessemer Venture Partners led the round.

- Code Ocean, a New York-based computational research platform for sharing scientific discoveries, raised $21 million in funding. Battery Ventures led the $15 million Series A, and was joined by investors including Digitalis Ventures, EBSCO, and Vaal Partners.

- Eleanor Health, a Waltham, Mass.-based outpatient addiction and mental health provider, raised $20 million in Series B funding. Investors included Town Hall Ventures, Echo Health Ventures, and Mosaic Health Solutions, as well as from Warburg Pincus.

- Picnic, a Seattle-based maker of a pizza-making robot, raised $16.3 million in Series A funding. Thursday Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Creative Ventures, Flying Fish Partners and Vulcan Capital.

- Zoe Financial, a New York City-based digital marketplace for hiring and vetting financial advisors, raised $10 million in Series A funding. SoftBank’s Opportunity Fund led the round.

- Healios, a London-based online therapy platform for children and young people with mental health and neurodiverse conditions, raised £7 million ($9.9 million). InHealth Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including AlbionVC.

- Houm, a Chile-based all-in-one platform for homeowners to rent and sell their properties, raised $8 million in seed funding. Investors included Y Combinator, Goodwater Ventures, OneVC, Vast VC, Liquid2, and Myelin. 

- Telda, an Egypt-based financial firm, raised $5 million in pre-seed funding. Sequoia led the round.

- Tea Drops, a Los Angeles-based make of dissolvable tea blends, raised $5 million in Series A funding. BrandProject led the round and was joined by investors including Siddhi Capital, AF Ventures, Cue Ball Capital, and Halogen Ventures.

- Kaiyo, a New York City-based marketplace for used furniture, raised $5 million in funding. Moderne Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Lerer Hippeau and Max Ventures.

- Merge, a San Francisco and New York City-based business-to-business API company, raised $4.5 million in seed funding. NEA led the round.

- Rhithm, a Dallas-based edtech startup focused on mental health and social-emotional wellbeing, raised $4 million in seed funding. Reach Capital led the round and was joined by investors including SJF Ventures, Red House Education and Edovate Capital.

- DeltaTrainer, a Pittsburgh-based maker of a one-on-one remote personal training company, raised $3.3 million in seed funding. TenOneTen Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Alpha Edison and Maven.

- Fave, a platform for fans to congregate around a creator, raised $2.2 million in seed funding. Investors included Female Founders Fund, HYBE, Sony Music, Warner Music, Concord Music, Quality Control, Right Hand Management, Techstars Music, and Betaworks.

- SoftLedger, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based business management software provider, raised $2.1 million in seed funding. Naples Technology Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Mucker Capital, Newark Venture Partners, and Acceleprise. 

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Abry Partners and Hoplon Capital agreed to acquire Concentrix Insurance Solutions, a South Carolina-based insurance administration operations and software platform. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Innovative Chemical Products Group, a portfolio company of Audax Private Equity, acquired Choice Adhesives, a Cincinnati-based manufacturer of contact adhesives serving the roofing and high-pressure laminate markets. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Nordic Capital invested in ArisGlobal, a Miami-based provider of software to the life sciences industry. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Platinum Equity agreed to acquire Game Taco, a Sausalito, Calif.-based skill-based mobile gaming platform. Game Taco will also acquire WorldWinner, a skill-game company, from GSN Games, which is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Symplr, backed by Clearlake and SkyKnight, acquired HealthcareSource HR, a Woburn, Mass.-based computer software company, from Francisco Partners. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Top Gun Facility Services, a portfolio company of Osceola Capital, acquired Emerald Isle Landscaping, a commercial landscaping company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Warburg Pincus agreed to invest in Premier Technical Services Group, a U.K.-based building compliance services provider. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

EXITS

- B&C Group agreed to buy an 80% stake in Schur Flexibles, an Austria-based packaging maker, from Lindsay Goldberg in a deal valuing Schur at €900 million ($1.09 billion) including debt.

- Kohlberg & Company acquired DecoPac, an Anoka, Minn.-based supplier of cake decor, from Snow Phipps. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

OTHER

- Gojek and Tokopedia, Indonesia’s biggest startups in ride-hailing and e-commerce respectively, plan to merge, forming an $18 billion company. KKR, Openspace Ventures, and Sequoia Capital India back Gojek. Sequoia Capital India and Alibaba back Tokopedia.

- Amazon reportedly is in talks to acquire MGM, the movie studio behind films including Legally Blonde and the James Bond franchise, for about $9 billion, per Variety. 

- Siemens agreed to acquire Supplyframe, a Pasadena, Calif.-based electronics-parts supply chain, for $700 million. Investors including U.S. Venture Partners backed the firm.

IPOS

- Flywire Corp, a Boston-based payments firm, plans to raise as much as $209 million in an IPO of 8.7 million shares priced between $22 and $24 each. Temasek backs the firm.

- Paymentus Holdings, a Redmond, Wash.-based electronic billing platform provider, plans to raise $200 million in an offering of 10 million shares priced at $19 to $21 apiece. Accel-KKR backs the firm.

- WalkMe, a Tel Aviv-based A.I.-based customer engagement and business insight platform, filed to raise $100 million. Insight Partners and Greenspring Associates back the firm. 

- 1stdibs.com, a New York City-based e-commerce platform for artwork and antiques, filed to raise $100 million. Benchmark, Insight Partners, and Spark Capital back the firm.

- LifeStance Health Group, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based outpatient mental health services company, filed to raise $100 million. Investors include TPG and Summit Partners.

- monday.com, a Tel Aviv and New York City-based collaboration platform, filed for an IPO. Insight Partners and Stripes back the firm.

SPACS

- Giga Energy, a China-based transportation company, plans to go public via merger with Yunhong International in a deal valued at up to $7.4 billion.

PEOPLE

- Great North Ventures, a Minneapolis-based venture capital firm, promoted Michael Schulte to venture partner.

- MetaProp, a New York City-based proptech venture investor, named Monica O’Neill as a partner. 

- Sequoia, the San Francisco-based venture firm, named Anas Biad as a partner focused on Europe. He was previously at Silver Lake.