Aakash Kapoor
Investor
Sequoia Capital
Peak XV investor focused on fintech, payments and consumer internet across SEA and ANZ.
Bio
Professional summary
Alfred Lin is a partner at Sequoia Capital focused on seed and early-stage opportunities. His official Sequoia profile describes his path from LinkExchange, which was acquired by Microsoft, to Venture Frogs, Tellme Networks, and Zappos. He emphasizes founder-market fit, outlier founders, product delight, paths to massive markets, and disruptive business models. Sequoia lists current or enduring companies associated with him including Airbnb, DoorDash, Instacart, Reddit, Uber, Zappos, OpenAI, Filecoin, Faire, Truework, Clay, Commure, and Whatnot.
Investment focus
Stage, sector, and overall fit
Stage
seedearly
Sector
consumermarketplacesAIhealthcarefintechcryptocommercefounder-market fit
Thesis
Seed and early-stage companiesFounder-market fitOutlier founders, delightful products, massive markets, and disruptive business models
Notable companies
Selected portfolio companies the partner has backed
AirbnbDoorDashInstacartRedditUberZapposOpenAIFilecoinFaireTrueworkClayCommureWhatnotZiplineFireworks AI
How to approach
Framing and angles for outreach
Pitch framing
Lead with founder-market fit, the founder's non-obvious insight, and why the product can create a large category or behavior shift.
Personalization hooks
- 1Personal side listed by Sequoia includes food, games, math, puzzles, running, and travel.
- 2Operator experience at Zappos and LinkExchange can support outreach about company-building discipline and customer obsession.
Recent signals
What the partner has said or done recently
Sequoia lists recent current companies first partnered in 2024-2026 including Crosby, Finch, Firetiger, Nominal, Rowspace, and Ineffable Intelligence.
Background
Career, education, and skills
Career history
- Sequoia CapitalPartner2010 – Present
- Zappos (acquired by Amazon)Chairman & COO2005 – 2010
- Tellme NetworksExecutive2001 – 2005
- Venture Frogs (incubator/seed fund)Co-Founder1999 – 2001
- LinkExchange (acquired by Microsoft)Early Employee1996 – 1999
Education
- Harvard University / Stanford UniversityB.S. Statistics (PhD program, left for startup)
- Stanford UniversityB.A./B.S.
Skills
Seed/Early InvestingFounder-Market FitCompany BuildingOperationsConsumer & Enterprise
Languages
EnglishMandarin Chinese
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