The team you build is the company you build.

When you're deciding with whom to work or invest, what personal qualities or professional attributes do you prioritize to ensure mutual success?

Uh, energy is the easiest one to spot. Uh, self-motivated. I would add another one to that whole set, which is just agency.

Like, people who just solve problems without even being asked to solve the problem. They identify the problem; they go solve it. They don't even have to update you every step of the way. They're not asking silly questions, and they're just coming up with solutions.

Because, uh, building a startup is an infinite set of problems that are being thrown at you. And there comes a day when you realize I can't even look at every problem, let alone think about it, let alone solve it. It's just not even possible.

So at that point, as Venod Khosla famously said, that the team you build is the company you build. And so at that point, the team you have built is the company you have built, and your ability to solve problems is based entirely on how many problem solvers you have below you.