# 254. The outsider’s edge: How Sir Michael Moritz built a billion-dollar empire

An episode of [The Rest Is Money](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1703785141), 23 Feb 2026, 47 min.

Audio: https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/GLT3303537738.mp3?updated=1772100262

What is the secret to scaling a startup into the next Google, Youtube or Airbnb? Why do you need an American on your board to be as successful as them? And what is Trump really motivated by? Plus why being an outsider can be a superpower in business. Sir Michael Moritz ran Sequoia Capital for over 35 years and is one of the world’s most successful venture capitalists - he talks to Steph about the convulsive context of Trump’s America, what it takes to become one of the Magnificent Seven and how his family’s escape from Nazi Germany led to an inherited despair that powered him through business - as featured in his new book Ausländer. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer. Email: therestismoney@goalhanger.com X: @TheRestIsMoney Instagram: @TheRestIsMoney TikTok: @RestIsMoney Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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