Alfred Lin
VCManaging Partner, Sequoia Capital
Sequoia partner, ex-Zappos COO, seed-stage focus
Background
Alfred Lin emigrated from Taiwan at age six and joined LinkExchange as CFO after Tony Hsieh and Sanjay Madan founded it, which was acquired by Microsoft. He then co-founded Venture Frogs, an incubator and seed fund, before serving as COO of Zappos until its acquisition by Amazon. Lin joined Sequoia Capital in 2010 and became Managing Partner in 2025, focusing on seed and early-stage investments. He has led or co-led investments in Airbnb, DoorDash, Instacart, Uber, Reddit, Anthropic, and OpenAI. His investment philosophy centers on founder-market fit, exceptional founders, and disruptive business models.
Investment Thesis
Founder-market fit is paramount; seeks founders with unique lived experiences and novel insights who are building products for massive markets with disruptive business models.
Investment Focus
Stages
Sectors
Based in: Global, primarily United States (North America)