Is it a dream for you? It is for me - and I have the privilege of living it.
My friend Zach calls it being a "collector of people." That doesn't mean turning people into objects. It's the opposite: we choose to work together because we admire each other and complement each other. It's as human as it gets.
Are we just hanging out and having fun? Yes and no.
We do have great times. But we also have tough ones. We disagree. We argue. And that's when it's best to have friends around. Friends trust. Friends don't fake. We assume good intent and believe everyone is doing their best. That alone cuts at least 80% of the pressure at work.
Working with friends is great, but we also need to hire people we don't know sometimes. How do we filter them?
Naval talks about curating people in this video and I agree with most of what he said. Let's wrap this knowledge into a few bullet points, but watch the whole video later - you'll thank me (my comments at the beginning of each one):
- (hard to have time after 30+ people) Founder hires, period. Don't outsource recruiting. Early hires are the company's DNA.
- (brave) Bar test. You should be proud to tell a candidate: "Interview anyone here at random; if you're not impressed, don't join." If one name makes you flinch, fix it.
- (easy) Traits to optimize for: intelligence, energy, integrity - plus low ego and self-management. They're easier to lead and 10× less political.
- (hard but amazing) Find the undiscovered. Look for builders tinkering at the edges (weird projects, small signals), not the already-pedigreed and over-recruited.
- (I love this one) Break the rules for outliers. Titles, comp structure, start dates, reporting lines - bend them to land exceptional people.
- (required) Keep teams small and opinionated. Scale is the enemy of deep work; curate for taste and shared mission.
- (for sure) Curate relentlessly. If you don't let go of "almost good enough," you'll only attract worse later. Never compromise on talent.
So, connecting everything: Working with friends is not nostalgia - it's curation. Founder-led hiring, a high bar, small opinionated teams, and a bias for undiscovered talent. If you walk into our room and aren't impressed by anyone you meet, you shouldn't join. If you are, welcome. Bring your taste, your low ego, and your art. We'll break the rules to make room for you.
Summary:
- Friends at work = trust that cuts 80% of pressure.
- Founder hires; the early team is the DNA.
- Low ego, self-managed builders only.
- Find undiscovered talent; break rules to land them.
- Curate without mercy. Never compromise on talent.
By the way, if you know amazing salespeople - I mean, people who know how to transmit enthusiasm for a great product and explain how it solves real pains - that's who we're looking for. Not people talking fancy words or promising things we don't do or have.
To wrap up: my wife usually says she avoids doing things with friends due to some deception in the past, and I always reply to this comment with a question: "Would you prefer to do it with your enemy?" I don't care if we're going to lose some friends along the way of working together, but I prefer to use my knowledge and strengths to maximize time spent with friends than with randoms.