> why this single fiasco is so damaging: the braintrust has proven to be a farcical joke. The guy was playing video games while on their funding calls and they called it "genius."

Sequoia balance their SBFs with solid, profitable bets. That means they can keep raising funds, keep paying out carry, and through both of those maintain staying power. I don't love reducing this to economics, but at the end of the day if you can't pay your LPs, you can't pay your GPs, and when you have second-rate GPs you're going to wind up with second-rate founders. Sequoia brings home the bacon. Andreessen lives on management fees.