Interview with Sequoia Blodgett from ABC Family’s TV Show - Startup U October Feature Newsletter 2015 | Page 4

I had a few questions to ask Sequoia B after her introduction.
In just a little over 4 months last year, your life took a major positive transition after overcoming your
illness. I want to know, did your health continue to affect your abilities to strive at entrepreneurship
with hopes of turning your idea into a content driven business?
No, immediately after, which is by the graces of the universe, I was hospitalized for 5 days. My diagnosis
is what literally 3 out of a million people can get when you have a common cold. In my case, it affected
my spinal cord and caused my entire body to go numb. I couldn’t feel anything from the head all the way
to the toes. To me, I’m like, “ok, is this it?” I talked to 10-15 doctors at that time and they told me, it
was a once in a lifetime situation. It would not happen again.
You work alongside with Tim Draper, what are the 3 most important areas in leadership guidance that
he has instilled into you today?
1) One of the biggest things I would say that Tim has instilled is that failure is not a negative thing.
And that’s really interesting because in Silicon Valley, failure is praised. So anywhere else, you
fail, you’re going to feel this kind of stigma, but at Silicon Valley, it’s like, “YES YOU FAILED!” That
means you’re seasoned. It means you’ve done well. It’s really interesting because the
perspective is completely different.
2) Just take action steps. No matter what, just go out and do it. That goes back to failure. Just try
it and do it. Talking about it is one thing. Having an idea, you have to execute the idea. Have
you done any work? What is your traction? What have you actually done? That’s what the VC
wants to know.
3) Have fun. Tim has a big personality. Nothing scares him. This is his normal everyday life. He just
goes out and does it. This is an in credible attribute to have.
You’re now walking in your victory with the launch of 7AM. Do you think you would be where you are
today had you not been accepted into Draper University?
No. (She laughs) Not at all. Honestly, being in the entertainment industry was the mindset that I had, I
probably would still be counting the payment. What Draper gives you is access, resources, and a
network. Whereas starting a company by yourself already is a very daunting task, but having the ecosystem that we have and the support system that we have, I can literally pop downstairs and I’m
surrounded by a million incredible minds that I would never ever have access to because I came from a
really different industry. Specifically with Tim Draper, I forget about how powerful Tim Draper is
sometimes. I wonder if he can introduce me to XYZ. Tim can make an introduction to anybody in Silicon
Valley. When Tim sends an email out, it comes back the next day. That is just how much power he has.
No, there is no way in the world I would be where I am today, if it wasn’t for Draper University.
When helping other rising entrepreneurs at Draper University, what challenges did you face?
There’s a lot of people who want to talk about what they want to do, but don’t do it. For example, like
at Startup U, you’ll see all of these individuals having these great ideas, but not the skill set to do it to
execute it nor talk to those who do have the skill set to execute it.