adapted from the Co-Founder Dating Questionnaire of Gloria Lin et al.
My friend and colleague Fiona once called me a polymath, to my face. I don't deserve such a mantle, but damn, what a compliment.
In amalgam, they'd probably confer on some mix of the nutty professor, monty python, don quixote, and dr. frankenstein. Or say I'm a know-it-all, but like really. Hopefully something delightfully left-handed.
I turn toward conflict, face it calmly. My core aim is to resolve tension as we reach a state of higher harmony.
It's hard to recall a situation in my recent life that has bubbled up into what we might agree was conflict. But then again, recently the conflict in my life has centered on the trust we societally place in allopathic medicine. From my point of view this trust is blind and harming us profoundly. I haven't figured out how to resolve this conflict. Sometimes I can hold space for the immense and manifold ambiguities we presently face, and sometimes I fail to do so and pick a side.
When I met Brogan and the founders-to-be of Arrivo, they were barely on the other side of a half-billion dollar lawsuit in the wake of Hyperloop One going sideways. I listened to them, let them vent, offered them creative avenues to move on, and supported them however I could. We had to navigate choppy waters frought with litigation and egomaniacal flame wars. And we made it out, made a new company, raised $10M, and built a stellar team of 40 in under a year.
Stress results from attachment to outcomes unachieved. I remain flexible and free-floating to avoid stress. When I choose attachments and make agreements, I do so with great care so as to avoid undue distress.
Depression is anger grown stale. Expressing anger healthily can prevent that.
If I seem stuck, or antsy, or volcanic, you can give me pause (or paws 👐) and ask an open-ended "What's up?"
I love to dig deeper. Are you familiar with Isaiah Berlin's Fox and Hedgehog? I embody the hedgehog most of the time, searching for the one full truth, seeking unity, clarity, harmony.
I've got a quippy little motto that I really like: "Always be asking." Self-enquiry, especially following Sri Ramana Maharshi, is an extraordinarily powerful mode of being. Always asking reminds me to establish consent before taking actions that impact anyone. Always asking reminds me that ignorance outpaces knowledge.
To make sense of the big waves, I often turn to the Tao Te Ching and the Yijing. I am continually amazed at the clarity of vision to be found between breaths.
I aim for flow. I flow best when sitting still, or when writing what I know, or brainstorming what I don't know. I make decisions easily and quickly, addressing fears, openly fielding objections.
I take the work out of work. Anything I notice repeating, I try to automate. Anything I don't understand, I try to learn. Anything that frustrates me, I breathe into.
The best interface is no interface. I continually try out new tools, and only keep a treasured few with me. And I sharpen the axe more than I swing it.
I can be responsible for work all the time, as long as a delay in response is acceptable. Deadlines aren't for the living. I make my agreements carefully, and I keep my agreements.
I can and will devote up to 10 hours a day to work when needed. And when not needed, I will use that time for family and well-being. I go with the flow and rise to what we need.
Hell is poorly made agreements: too many and ones I can't keep. If we are careful about what we agree to, our responsibilities will be manageable and acceptable.
I find that expectations breed disappointment and little else, so I try to leave those aside. Historically, I show up whenever I am needed, and lead by example. This will continue to be the case.
I like to be in the skunkworks. R&D. Ideation. Devsign. Prototyping.
Before we find our market and our fit, I want my role to be focused on finding our market and our fit by the easiest, most graceful means possible.
After we find a fit, we may need to begin to anticipate the response of the market and our nascent competitors. As V1 takes off, I want to focus on envisioning V2.
As the company scales I may build less and listen more. No Lego is sacred to me. Historically I take on and learn whichever role the org needs filled. I would love to build a team of wunderkinder and whippersnappers and steward their brilliance, breakthroughs, and successes using radical honesty, deep listening, and heart-first design.
CXO? Your friendly neighborhood Kerrbear? I'm not concerned with titles or roles.
The name you can say isn't the real name. — Tao Te Ching §1
| Realm | Builder | Leader | Passion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Marketing | 7 | 9 | 9 |
| Product Strategy | 7 | 9 | 9 |
| Design | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Engineering | 9 | 7 | 9 |
| Operations | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Fundraising | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Leadership | 9 | 7 | 8 |
| Company Building | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Recruiting | 7 | 9 | 9 |
| Legal | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Domain Skills^ | ? | ? | ? |
^ Domain or technology-specific skills (e.g. Healthcare, Machine Learning, etc.) Cluster AORs based on rank and discuss how they could be assigned to individuals. (E.g. John is a 10 in product, so he gets that AOR).
Break ties using the passion rating. (E.g. Nick is a 7 in sales with medium passion and Gloria is a 7 in Sales with high passion, so Gloria will take on sales).
Discuss: Do these clusters align with everyone's expectations, skills, and desires? Do we all agree on the areas of responsibility for the CEO, CTO, COO, etc?
In a timezone with nice weather and fresh food. Rhythm is important. Starting in PST makes sense because I'm/we're here now.
Remote/distributed/decentralized teams are the future (and the present). Maybe Hawaii? Costa Rica?
Nope.
Even steven. Employee with ownership invest themselves. More self-investment is better.
I like how Change.org does it: transparent compensation. Every employee knows what the others make and their stake. Gives us a strong incentive to make good deals and avoid favortism or any other -ism.
Enough to grow 20x this year.
As much as possible without poisoning our well or relinquishing the reins. A healthy cushion to hire a well-rounded, super-talented team and start building something rad.
Ease. One who doesn't hurry. Accessibility over security. High risk, low ego. I'd ask Kyle Wild and Nancy Hua and a small cadre of founders I trust for reads.
Four year cycles seem to be common in our culture. Seems like a smart way to phase our goals. Personally I want to set my small family (my partner and newborn son) up for thrival. An ideal company exit brings a bunch of people in, and up, and leaves everyone better off. I think we exit before we are tired of the space, or tired of each other.
Success does not sit at a finish line. It is a way of being. The path is infinite.
That said, my primary objective is bliss. So if I'm not enjoying myself, I'm not successful.
F-U-money. Yes, maybe, if we're tired of it.
Sell and start over. Get out and move on. It's about the joy of making magic.
Yes and no. If the goal is harmony, then violent, unilateral actions will not serve us. But if near-term harmony is impossible, fire we must.
Because now is the time. I am ready. And the world needs my gifts.
In particular, as ecological and economic crises collide and businesses fail, we will need a new model for organizations that aim for harmony, that prioritize well-being over doing good, happiness over progress, who act with love rather than out of fear.
Success is enjoying oneself. It is an ocean of flow states. I am driven mainly by curiosity.
Between control or success, I choose success, as defined above. The goal is to build something amazing and magical, something that brings people together who wonder what is worth doing. I'll not stand in the way of amazement or magic, but it's really hard to stand by and watch them kill your baby.
Genetics? My grandmother was gritty. Won multiple medals in the Senior Olympics after a quadruple bypass and a bout with cancer.
Ten quiet minutes alone makes me gritty in the short term. A close brush with death also does the trick.
At the moment, my month-old son Zephyr Bear has my admiration. I'm realizing in this early moments of fatherhood that nature reveres its young and discards or digests the old. Many human cultures would have us revere the old, decrepit, or deceased. But is it any honor to have lived a long life? Or does the honor lie in the new try?
Again, I have to say my newborn son.
Recently I built Nameless, which is still in alpha, but I'm very pleased with it.
Careerwise I feel that pride is better placed in the future than the past.
It's kind of my M.O. to take unpopular stances. For reference, see Easeness, or Atmanaut.
I'm really inspired by crafts, art, and products that represent a lifetime of careful practice and expertise.
I look for products that enable the creativity, vitality, or serendipity of their customers.
I love Mom and Pop shops, co-ops, endeavors in rewilding and regardening, links in the farm-to-table supply chains, and dev shops and open source projects that make web and app magic.
The companies I love fit the description of an Easeness.
Yup. Let's do it.
Family first. Then this company. My time is otherwise my own.
Right now I can be there whenever the baby is all good, which is most of the time, but somewhat sporadic. In 6 months, I will be more available more regularly. In 2 years, when Pandemic 3: Return of the Fauci comes out, who knows what we'll be up to.
I'm currently bootstrapping my consultancy, so not as long as I would like. But I'm willing to lean in how I can, or prop up as needed.
Survival rate is of course nil, we can find a way. $10K a month barely pays our bills. Twice that would feel nice.
It makes a village.
Brobdingnagian. fhqwhgads. ZEF to DEF.
Workfree. Playful and fun. Focused on well-being. Wholesomely orgasmic.
I want everyone we bring onboard to be able to outperform us at their job. We'll build the pyramid upside down.
We can employ radical honesty, courageous positivity, and the power of vulnerability to attract and retain great people.
Plenty of rest and sleep. Deep listening. Meals together, and quality time. Regular, casual, personal conversations. Circling. Publishing our goals and resolutions, quarterly, yearly, longer term. Sharing responsibilities.
0 to 60 hours a week depending on the week. 40ish weeks a year.
Resilience arises in the presence of diversity which follows from the practice of inclusion. So they are paramount for the continuance of an effort or organization through unpredictable conditions.
To build a strong team, we look for a wide and balanced array of complementary strengths, perspectives, and backgrounds.
Everyone may choose and dictate the facets of their own identity. These are acknowledged, respected, and inconsequential at the company.
Ritual. We'll set regular time aside to hold space for each other, to listen, to create. We'll develop and share our rituals with the team. We'll grab a beer.
Draw straws? Introducing a random decider can elucidate the sticking point. Darts? Something simple, playful, and competitive can help to break the tension. Call on our elders, our advisors, the oracle.
Swiftly, graciously, as the ocean guides the tide back to sea. We split the kids down the middle. jk
We ask whether we need to grow. We look at the market, the competitive landscape, our product(s). Failures to grow in my past may have stemmed from an over-focus on integrity, aka not selling out.
Paintball combat. Or maybe a jousting tournament.
I would think laterally about it. It's nice to have a little overlap in expertise as long as we don't become homogenous.
What are we getting tattooed?