Do the hard things. To build a great startup, you have to move fast. But you shouldn’t let urgency distract you from tackling big, thorny problems. Doing the hard things is one of the most effective ways to build true defensibility.

Protect your principles. Having clear company principles helps your team make faster, better decisions. It’s easier to act autonomously when you have a clear framework to follow. Failing to protect these values can shift your company towards an “exception-based” culture.

As a CEO, you want to build a company that tackles really, really hard problems head-on – even if they take more time.

Doing the hard things pays dividends in the long run.

focus is everything

as Leif Abraham said, having focus doesn’t mean saying no to bad ideas; it’s saying no to ideas you think are exciting, high-potential, and easily justifiable – and doing so because you don’t want to give even 0.1% less to your existing business. Focus should be painful.

a small number of products will drive nearly 100% of the value. Spend your time and resources on the places it matters most.

Violating your company’s values comes at a high cost. While you might get away with a couple of transgressions, over time, you create a different culture than the one you intended to.

whenever you’re tempted to act against your company’s principles for expediency’s sake, recognize what you’re risking.

hiring someone that’s only a partial fit creates an organizational debt that has to be paid off at some point. And, like financial debt, the longer you leave it, the larger your bill can grow and the less flexibility you’ll have in the future.

If they’re not the right fit, there’s a good chance that rather than solving your problem, they’ll end up creating a dozen new ones. Digging your way out might involve unwinding the entire team.

It’s not enough to have a 10x better product. If you’re trying to build an epic consumer business, you also need an exceptional brand. This becomes increasingly important over time as competitors recognize the opportunity in your space and as you expand beyond your core customer demographic.

Our ultimate promise to consumers was that we provided the best service because we cared – about the country we were from and the people that worked on the platform.

transparency has helped us build trust with them and, by extension, our customers.