sequel
37 posts

sequel
@joinsequel
Stories of those who dare to defy the odds ///// Storytelling arm of sequel - digital family office of the word's best athletes, artists & founders.


🎶 It's the edge of the world and all of Western civisliation 🎶 sequel membership is now open to athletes, artists and entrepreneurs. I'm moving to California. 'We're deeply aware that we are not the main characters' - tomorrow we share our new platform for founders.

We raised $500M at an $11B valuation to transform how people interact with technology.


'I raised my kids to be unemployable.' How do you build “big” without your family paying the price? @AnasKoroleva is a four-time exited founder and the host of The Exit Paradox podcast. She has an unrivalled knowledge of Post-Exit pitfalls. She is also the mother to 3 fascinating children, and in this episode she shares the techniques and processes on how she raised them. From how she thinks about motivation to the boundaries that protect family time, this is a conversation about building success that doesn’t cost you what matters most. Here's what we spoke about: 2:07 - Turning problem-spotting into a competitive advantage 6:34 - Hiring how people sell themselves 11:05 - Work + parenting pressure 11:19 - How to not fail the kids while also not failing the businesses 17:26 - Incentives as a tool for shaping behaviour 21:36 - Cheap dopamine and how it shapes attention and habits 27:52 - Sunk-cost loop, throwing good money after bad and getting stuck 35:41 - Angel investing vs cashflow businesses 40:07 - Raising your children to be unemployable 43:18 - Brain chemistry as a major driver of sustained change

'I raised my kids to be unemployable.' How do you build “big” without your family paying the price? @AnasKoroleva is a four-time exited founder and the host of The Exit Paradox podcast. She has an unrivalled knowledge of Post-Exit pitfalls. She is also the mother to 3 fascinating children, and in this episode she shares the techniques and processes on how she raised them. From how she thinks about motivation to the boundaries that protect family time, this is a conversation about building success that doesn’t cost you what matters most. Here's what we spoke about: 2:07 - Turning problem-spotting into a competitive advantage 6:34 - Hiring how people sell themselves 11:05 - Work + parenting pressure 11:19 - How to not fail the kids while also not failing the businesses 17:26 - Incentives as a tool for shaping behaviour 21:36 - Cheap dopamine and how it shapes attention and habits 27:52 - Sunk-cost loop, throwing good money after bad and getting stuck 35:41 - Angel investing vs cashflow businesses 40:07 - Raising your children to be unemployable 43:18 - Brain chemistry as a major driver of sustained change


We think we understand the finances of professional footballers. Salaries. Cars. Headlines. End of story. The reality is far more fragile and far less talked about. @mattjpsmith played 500+ games for Leeds, Fulham, QPR & Millwall. Unlike most players, he didn’t outsource every decision. University. MBA. Now co-founder of @joinsequel, a venture firm helping athletes think long-term. What he reveals here is uncomfortable listening at times: - Players paying tax on undisclosed agent fees - Contracts with zero transparency - Careers ending with no plan, no structure, no purpose It’s an industry that discourages education, ownership and long-term thinking and the consequences that follow. In this episode we discuss: ⚽ Why footballers often delegate every major life decision and why that backfires 💰 The hidden realities of agent fees, tax bills and financial exposure 📉 How fragile many football clubs actually are behind the scenes 🧠 Why education and decision-making matter more than earnings 📊 Venture investing, outliers and how athletes should really think about wealth 🔄 Transition, retirement and the identity shock players aren’t prepared for This conversation explains why so many players struggle after football and what actually needs to change. Youtube 👉 youtu.be/UADPL4i7E5k Spotify 👉 open.spotify.com/show/1lD0eIjmk… Apple 👉 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… All on Business of Sport 🔥


I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve recently joined the Athlete Advisory Board at @joinsequel. They’re creating an outstanding platform designed for athletes to connect with peers, build valuable networks, access high-quality educational resources, and selectively engage in exciting investment deals.

How was 2025 for the @joinsequel team? The scorecard is out... Thank you to: - the 18 new founding teams who chose to partner with us - the 174 new pro athlete members who trusted us to grow our AUM 4.4x - the 30 top tier funds who co-invested with us - my team who created 460 pieces of content, 4 documentaries, 9 events and 147 introductions for portfolio companies Some huge changes coming in 2026 as we continue to build out the sequel platform.

How was 2025 for the @joinsequel team? The scorecard is out... Thank you to: - the 18 new founding teams who chose to partner with us - the 174 new pro athlete members who trusted us to grow our AUM 4.4x - the 30 top tier funds who co-invested with us - my team who created 460 pieces of content, 4 documentaries, 9 events and 147 introductions for portfolio companies Some huge changes coming in 2026 as we continue to build out the sequel platform.

'Was I happy? No. I was a monster. That was part of my winning mindset.' From sleeping on the streets of Paris to lifting the Champions League trophy. Sequel member Patrice @Evra 's story is proof that greatness isn’t given, it’s earned. A five-time Premier League winner. Manchester United legend. Captain for France. We sat down with Patrice Evra to talk about life after football. Finding identity beyond the game, fighting racism, surviving abuse, and redefining what purpose really means. An honest conversation about greatness, discipline, and what it takes to succeed. Here's what we spoke about: 3:04 - Finding his identity after football 5:48 - How storytelling changed his life 6:26 - Surviving childhood abuse 6:47 - “I’m not a victim, I’m a survivor" 9:29 - Discipline born from survival 13:01 - Buying his mum a house at 24 17:50 - His brutal Premier League “welcome” 19:57 - The moment that changed everything 23:28 - His mum’s strength and resilience 26:50 - Why he has zero regrets 29:13 - Losing £10 million and laughing 31:55 - Believing in himself from day one 36:09 - What success really means: sacrifice

Does the world need more listeners or more rebels? From bootstrapping an idea to building a billion-dollar company. Michele Attisani, along with his partners, built FACEIT, one of the leading esports platforms, scaling it to over 30 million users before a $1.5B exit. Here's what we spoke about with @Mattisani : 1:53 - The emotional cost of building a billion-dollar business  3:04 - What really happens after you sell a $1.5B company  3:30 - The identity crisis no one warns founders about  4:02 - The first emotion after the exit 5:14 - Investing in 70+ startups and what he looks for  5:40 - The evolution of AI and machine learning  6:49 - The first thing he bought after the exit 7:09 - Does success make you more or less cautious? 8:13 - Why the world needs more rebels 8:46 - The most overrated advice in entrepreneurship  9:12 - The real test of whether you’re meant to be a founder  9:32 - Why everyone thought they were insane 10:01 - Embracing ambiguity 11:56 - Democracy has failed

The secret internal people system behind Revolut's $75 billion success.

'If it doesn't hurt, you're not doing it right.' From the early days inside Revolut’s rise to becoming one of the youngest partners in @sequoia history, @_georgerobson has spent his career operating in the highest-performance environments. He’s developed a rare eye for spotting winners, and understanding what it takes to build successful companies. George opens up about his leap into Revolut, the lessons that defined his career, and the founder signals he looks for today. Here's what we spoke about: 3:02 - Why Sequoia cares more about who you were before 21 4:14 - The difference between being driven and being ambitious 5:26 - Discovering the highest talent density of his career 5:40 - “We care more about slope than intercept” 7:44 - The founder question that matters more than the pitch 8:26 - Why hiring impressive CVs is usually a mistake 9:11 - Culture as a social contract 9:31 - “If it doesn’t hurt, you’re not doing it right” 11:55 - How Revolut taught him radical clarity and conflict 16:29 - Long-term thinking as a muscle most people never train 20:16 - What success really means

Humanity's Propulsion System: Storytelling Investors and founders often talk about the power of storytelling from a capital raising perspective. While this is a skill required to accumulate resources - this is a crude simplification of the importance of storytelling to mankind. Stories are not simply vulgar tools for short-term gain. Stories are not relics. They’re not dusty records of what once happened or flat instruction sheets for what might be... Stories are engines. Sparks that detonate in the minds of the next generation and push humanity forward. Every breakthrough begins as a story believed before the world is ready for it: - Heroes heard tales of courage long before they ever stood in danger. - Innovators imagined new worlds because someone else once sketched the outline. Stories shape identity, sharpen ambition, and plant the ‘dangerous’ idea that the impossible is simply the unattempted… Civilizations advance through this cycle: a story inspires a mind -> that mind creates a leap -> the leap becomes a new story for those who follow. Storytelling isn’t just entertainment. It’s the mechanism of progress. Humanity’s propulsion system. It’s how we move forward.



Humanity's Propulsion System: Storytelling Investors and founders often talk about the power of storytelling from a capital raising perspective. While this is a skill required to accumulate resources - this is a crude simplification of the importance of storytelling to mankind. Stories are not simply vulgar tools for short-term gain. Stories are not relics. They’re not dusty records of what once happened or flat instruction sheets for what might be... Stories are engines. Sparks that detonate in the minds of the next generation and push humanity forward. Every breakthrough begins as a story believed before the world is ready for it: - Heroes heard tales of courage long before they ever stood in danger. - Innovators imagined new worlds because someone else once sketched the outline. Stories shape identity, sharpen ambition, and plant the ‘dangerous’ idea that the impossible is simply the unattempted… Civilizations advance through this cycle: a story inspires a mind -> that mind creates a leap -> the leap becomes a new story for those who follow. Storytelling isn’t just entertainment. It’s the mechanism of progress. Humanity’s propulsion system. It’s how we move forward.



Humanity's Propulsion System: Storytelling Investors and founders often talk about the power of storytelling from a capital raising perspective. While this is a skill required to accumulate resources - this is a crude simplification of the importance of storytelling to mankind. Stories are not simply vulgar tools for short-term gain. Stories are not relics. They’re not dusty records of what once happened or flat instruction sheets for what might be... Stories are engines. Sparks that detonate in the minds of the next generation and push humanity forward. Every breakthrough begins as a story believed before the world is ready for it: - Heroes heard tales of courage long before they ever stood in danger. - Innovators imagined new worlds because someone else once sketched the outline. Stories shape identity, sharpen ambition, and plant the ‘dangerous’ idea that the impossible is simply the unattempted… Civilizations advance through this cycle: a story inspires a mind -> that mind creates a leap -> the leap becomes a new story for those who follow. Storytelling isn’t just entertainment. It’s the mechanism of progress. Humanity’s propulsion system. It’s how we move forward.

'If it doesn't hurt, you're not doing it right.' From the early days inside Revolut’s rise to becoming one of the youngest partners in @sequoia history, @_georgerobson has spent his career operating in the highest-performance environments. He’s developed a rare eye for spotting winners, and understanding what it takes to build successful companies. George opens up about his leap into Revolut, the lessons that defined his career, and the founder signals he looks for today. Here's what we spoke about: 3:02 - Why Sequoia cares more about who you were before 21 4:14 - The difference between being driven and being ambitious 5:26 - Discovering the highest talent density of his career 5:40 - “We care more about slope than intercept” 7:44 - The founder question that matters more than the pitch 8:26 - Why hiring impressive CVs is usually a mistake 9:11 - Culture as a social contract 9:31 - “If it doesn’t hurt, you’re not doing it right” 11:55 - How Revolut taught him radical clarity and conflict 16:29 - Long-term thinking as a muscle most people never train 20:16 - What success really means
