Vision Beats Stock Options
Andreessen: Stock options — they'll tell you those aren't worth anything. A friend of mine says the difference between a vision and a hallucination is that other people can see the vision.
The best entrepreneurs are really good at selling people on their company. They can explain the way the world is going to look in a way that is so compelling. Steve Jobs had what he called the reality distortion field — if you got within 10 feet of him, whatever he said for the next 20 minutes, you'd walk out believing it.
The best entrepreneurs explain the way the world will look so compellingly — you walk out believing.
Frustration Is a Good Thing
Andreessen: Hiring is incredibly frustrating. But part of the frustration is actually a good thing. Hiring is a self-selection process on the part of the candidate.
Of all the people you interview, if you hired them all, a good two-thirds or three-quarters you probably shouldn't have hired anyway. The best companies provide a very stark idea of what they are and what they aren't.
If you hired everyone you interview, two-thirds you probably shouldn't have hired anyway.
Be Polarizing
Andreessen: We have a company we invested in where the whole company does yoga together. Every day. Literally yoga every day. Company's called Asana — which means a yoga pose, I learned. If you like yoga, this is the company for you. If you don't, don't go there.
A very stark idea is very good because it's polarizing. The best companies tend to be polarizing. If in your hiring process you're turning people off as often as you're turning them on — I think that's a good thing.
The best companies are polarizing. If you're turning people off as often as on — that's a good thing.