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Keith Rabois on the 3 Things Max Levchin Taught Him That Still Run His Life

By Keith Rabois · Leadership · 1 min read

Max Levchin slept in the office for 3 days to solve a fraud problem. The lesson stuck.

Key Points

Lead by example - model the behavior you want employees to emulate
Exercise daily no matter how busy you are - it affects your brain and decisions
Use machines and people in an interactive loop, shifting the ratio over time

Max literally slept in the office with the team for 3 days until they figured out the problem. That cascades the entire company.

Lesson One: Sleep on the Office Floor

Max Levchin built PayPal's fraud detection system. Years later, worth hundreds of millions, a fraud problem hit one of his companies. What did Levchin do? He slept in the office for three days straight.

Not because he had to. Because leaders model behavior. When the CTO sleeps at the office during a crisis, that signal cascades through every level of the company.

You have to model the behavior you want your employees to emulate.

Lesson Two: Run Every Day

At PayPal, Levchin went for a run every single day. Didn't matter how many fires were burning. Rabois tried to shadow him. Problem: Levchin runs a sub-five-minute mile.

The lesson wasn't about running. It was about protecting your brain. Exercise affects your decisions. Even when the company is falling apart, you need to keep sharp.

Max went for a run every single day. Didn't matter how many fires were burning.

Lesson Three: The Human-Machine Loop

Levchin invented something that half of tech uses today. He figured out how to blend humans and machines. Start with 99% humans and almost no data. Then shift the ratio over time as data builds.

This was 2001. He was on the cover of Wired for it. Now it's standard practice. But back then, it was a breakthrough.

How do you start 99% humans and very little data, then switch the equation over time?

The Interactive Loop

Rabois: Max figured out how to use machines and people in an interactive loop — starting with 99% humans and almost no data, then switching the equation over time. He was on the cover of Wired for this. That concept has been indispensable to lots of companies.

Start 99% humans, almost no data. Switch the equation over time. Indispensable to lots of companies.