# Alfred Lin

Co-steward, Sequoia Capital. TIME100 AI 2026, Shapers. As a Harvard student he resold pizza by the slice, which caught Tony Hsieh's eye and led to Zappos; he now co-leads Sequoia as managing partner. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lin))

- Born: 1972, Taiwan ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lin), [sequoiacap.com](https://sequoiacap.com/people/alfred-lin))
- Education: MS, Statistics, Stanford University, 1996; attended, no degree, Statistics (PhD), Stanford University; BA, Applied mathematics, Harvard University, 1994 ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lin), [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/linalfred))
- Career: Sequoia Capital (Co-steward, 2010 to now); Zappos (Chairman, COO and CFO, 2005–2010); Tellme Networks (VP of Finance and Business Development); Venture Frogs (Co-founder); LinkExchange (CFO, from 1996) ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/linalfred), [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/04/sequoia-names-alfred-lin-and-pat-grady-as-new-co-stewards-as-roelof-botha-steps-down/), [fs.blog](https://fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/alfred-lin/), [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lin), [sequoiacap.com](https://sequoiacap.com/people/alfred-lin))
- TIME profile: https://time.com/collection/time100-ai/2026/pat-grady-alfred-lin/
- Profile: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/most-influential-people-in-ai/alfred-lin

- At Harvard he bought whole pizzas, cut them into slices and resold them at a profit, which is how Tony Hsieh noticed him. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lin))
- Dropped out of a Stanford statistics PhD to become CFO of Tony Hsieh's startup LinkExchange. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lin))
- Microsoft bought LinkExchange for $265 million, giving Sequoia a 17x return in 17 months. ([sequoiacap.com](https://sequoiacap.com/people/alfred-lin))
- Ran Zappos' finance and warehouse operations as COO and CFO through its $1.2 billion sale to Amazon. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lin))
- Moved from Taiwan to New York with his parents at age six and went to Stuyvesant High School. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lin))
- Every company he worked at was acquired, the smallest for $265 million, which led TechCrunch to credit him with the Midas touch. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lin))