Gautam Mago Steps Down As MD Of Sequoia Capital India

Gautam Mago, the MD of VC investment firm, Sequoia India has announced his departure from the company. Mago first tweeted of his intentions yesterday, when he said “Change is at the heart of our business. Time to embrace it…”

He also mentioned that he had completed 10 unforgettable years with Sequoia, tagging the company handle in the tweet.

In a series of tweets, Mago continued thanking the company for all “the learnings” and stated that it had “been a privilege to work with founders and the Sequoia team.” He also stated that he would transition away from the current role.

Gautam Mago’s further plans are not known as yet, but in his concluding tweet he mentioned that he was “looking forward to catching up with many folk over the next few month.” His LinkedIn profile still lists his current occupation as Managing Director, Sequoia Capital for the last nine year and 11 month.

A Sequoia official spokesperson declined to comment on the development, when Inc42 queried them.

Gautam Mago And The Sequoia Connect

“I ended up at Sequoia by accident,” reads the Gautam Mago bio on the company website. He has also shared that the areas where technology meets and impacts markets are interesting to him. “Market and technology keep changing. The only certainty is that tomorrow’ focus will be different from today,” he added.

Mago was part of Sequoia’s big-ticket deals due to this focus on tomorrow. The investments ranged from the cab-hailing space to furniture etailing and digital payments. As per the Sequoia India website, Gautam Mago was involved in at least 16 of the firm’s portfolio deals which includes tech and non-tech both.

He was involved with companies such as BankBazaar, Belong, Capital Float, Fintellix, MadStreetDen, Mobikwik, Ola. He was also part of investing in portfolio companies such as Oyo, Porter, Practo, Runnr, Sai Life Sciences, Star Health, TinyOwl, UnitedLex, and Urban Ladder

Gautam Mago is an alum of IIM Calcutta from the 2004 batch. Prior to that, he had finished his Masters in Business from Mumbai University.  He started his VC career as an analyst for Arthur Andersen. From there, he progressed to working as an Associate with global consulting firm McKinsey & Co. Mago joined Sequoia India in August 2009.

Sequoia India: A Quick Snapshot

Sequoia started operations in India in 2006. Till date, it has invested in over 100 companies across sectors such as, healthcare, consumer and financial services. Sequoia India is known for its investment in companies such as SirionLabs, Grofers, Zomato, GirnarSoft, GirnarSoft, BYJU’s, Zillingo.

Most recently, the VC firm has been in the news for announcing a $4 Bn fund. The regulatory filings revealed that the Indian arm of the VC firm had raised about $700 Mn for the local market. In April, 2017 it was reported that the VC firm concluded a $180 Mn secondary stake sale of eight of its portfolio companies to Madison Capital. The report further added that Sequoia India divested small stakes in Pine Labs, Star Health, and India Shelter Finance Corporation, along with 1.5% ownership in Snapdeal. It also fully exited from its investment in Micromax and legal process outsourcing firm UnitedLex.