Radical Talks
00:26:15 · Jordan Jacobs, Aidan Gomez
[00:26:15] S1: No. You answered the question. Why combine with alfalfa and what does it meant for you? So that was actually a great explanation. Okay. [00:26:22] S2: Great. [00:26:23] S1: See, by accident, you got there. So the people that are here are people who are in AI thinking about becoming founders or on the journey of becoming founders. Just stepping back, kind of looking, putting your journey in perspective, what are what are just give us some pieces of advice about what people should be thinking about, how they should be approaching it, you know, how big should their ideas be? Should they be thinking about something small and very clear or something very big? Should they be massively ambitious or not? Should they be looking for co founders? Like give us some of the nuggets of things that you've kind of learned along the way that maybe happened accidentally or maybe intentionally, but have been beneficial or things that you did wrong that you would have done differently. And it's a grab bag. Just hit us with anything that you think of.
00:27:23 · Aidan Gomez
[00:27:23] S2: I got so lucky with my cofounders. Like, I don't know how I got so lucky. But I've had lots of friends who have started companies, and, like, the wrong cofounding unit is so painful. I I don't know. I would recommend solo founding, like, instead of founding with the wrong cofounding unit. So be very, very thoughtful, about who you choose. The the way that Nick and I went through it, we basically viewed it as a marriage. You know? Like, it's just like this is for life. Like, our destinies are permanently intertwined. Our lives will be inseparable. We can't run away from each other. There's like... You know, it's a... This is a permanent irreversible commitment, and we are essentially becoming siblings. And we should approach it as siblings. Like, we're gonna fight. We're gonna have disagreements, but you can't escape each other. Like, you're in this for life, and you're gonna have to work around the weaknesses of the other person and, like... But you still love each other, you know, and, like, you you want the best for each other and and the best for you you both jointly. So I think that's how we approached it, and that's what's give a... Given us the staying power and the stability in the company. So, yeah, I I don't know how to give advice around picking founders. I think I just got, like, super lucky.
00:29:14 · Jordan Jacobs, Aidan Gomez
[00:29:14] S1: The unit of three is interesting. So in start... You know, as a founder, two of the companies I started were three. Both both AI companies. We we were three in each case. Three is interesting. It's different than one. It's different than two. I mean, it's got its pros and cons. How have you found having three of you to be beneficial? What is unique about that configuration? [00:29:45] S2: I don't have a counterexample, because I don't know what it's like to be four or two or one or...
00:29:45 · Aidan Gomez, Jordan Jacobs
[00:29:45] S2: I don't have a counterexample, because I don't know what it's like to be four or two or one or... [00:29:53] S1: Well, here, I'll give you an example that I found in my experience. Doing a start up is hard. It's a roller coaster. Ten a. M. You're going up the roller coaster. Yay. Two p. M. You're upside down and vomiting out lunch. And it's just kind of like this all day every day. The benefit of having co founders is that you can share the experience with each other. There's a shorthand and there's something to vent to, frankly. It's particularly when you're dividing up responsibilities. You're not doing the same things as each other, but you're familiar enough with what each other are doing. And there's this opportunity to share that experience and kind of vent and get it out so you don't necessarily take it home with you to the same degree you otherwise might. And you're not dumping it on your spouse or your partner who's already suffering from being with someone who's a startup founder and is married to their startup as much as they are to them. Having three is interesting because there's always someone different to talk to. If your co founder is having an even worse time than you and you don't want to go dump on them, well, maybe there's a second person you can go talk to.
00:29:53 · Jordan Jacobs, Aidan Gomez
[00:29:53] S1: Well, here, I'll give you an example that I found in my experience. Doing a start up is hard. It's a roller coaster. Ten a. M. You're going up the roller coaster. Yay. Two p. M. You're upside down and vomiting out lunch. And it's just kind of like this all day every day. The benefit of having co founders is that you can share the experience with each other. There's a shorthand and there's something to vent to, frankly. It's particularly when you're dividing up responsibilities. You're not doing the same things as each other, but you're familiar enough with what each other are doing. And there's this opportunity to share that experience and kind of vent and get it out so you don't necessarily take it home with you to the same degree you otherwise might. And you're not dumping it on your spouse or your partner who's already suffering from being with someone who's a startup founder and is married to their startup as much as they are to them. Having three is interesting because there's always someone different to talk to. If your co founder is having an even worse time than you and you don't want to go dump on them, well, maybe there's a second person you can go talk to. [00:30:59] S2: That's true. And if one is if one is giving you shit and then you're, like, really upset about it, you can go commiserate with the other sibling. You know? You're like, Nick's speaking so mean to me. And they'll comfort you and then, you know, be like, oh, but, know, you should hear him out. Blah blah blah. It's a, yeah, it's a good number.
00:30:59 · Aidan Gomez, Jordan Jacobs
[00:30:59] S2: That's true. And if one is if one is giving you shit and then you're, like, really upset about it, you can go commiserate with the other sibling. You know? You're like, Nick's speaking so mean to me. And they'll comfort you and then, you know, be like, oh, but, know, you should hear him out. Blah blah blah. It's a, yeah, it's a good number. [00:31:17] S1: But I think that that... What you just said is exactly the dynamic that is really important, which is if it's just two of you, you can get into a kind of standoff and there's not a third person who can mediate. And if there's good intentions between the three of you, there's always a mediator people are in a disagreement, and the disagreement can be about anything. It can be about how to spend the money. It can be about who to hire. It can be about responsibilities. It can be about what to prioritize in your roadmap, in your product roadmap. It can be about anything. Who's gonna get on the next plane, you know, after each of you've on a plane a million times? So having a third person to mediate can be super helpful. [00:31:56] S2: Yeah. It's true. Like, the opportunity for a devastating conflict between two people versus three is probably way high. Like, as soon as you get any conflict between the two, it's a crisis to the entire founding unit. Whereas if you have more than two, you have... You can have these kind of bilateral conflicts and still see it through. [00:32:17] S1: Yeah. Exactly. So I... As... You know, I understand your advocacy for, you know, go go start on your own rather than sort