Well … like many things … it depends.
If you could be an LP in Sequoia’s core early-stage fund, and you have a long time horizon … yes you should do that.
But … I think you are asking a different question. Which is should you invest in one specific deal just because Sequoia or Accel already have, or are investing?
There I’d be more careful. The best firms still have pretty high loss rates. And the deals with the best firms that still have room for others — that they don’t scoop up 100% of the round for themselves (e.g., WhatsApp) … sometimes is a signal it’s not one of their better deals.
So yes I’d love to have access to all of their early stage deals, and even better, be able to cherry pick the exact ones I want to co-invest in.
But I wouldn’t invest in a company just because Sequoia or Accel have invested, for that reason alone.
Because the better the firm, in many (but certainly not all) cases, the higher the loss ratio by % of companies (but not by $$$).
