On Building Thriving Startup Teams
It's the opposite of what you see on social media
Building a great startup team is less about perks and more about principles.
I look for three things:
Ownership: the ability to think about the whole experience, not just “my ticket.”
Managers of One: people who can handle themselves without hand‑holding or endless 1:1s.
Love for the craft: the drive to improve, refine, and obsess over the tiny details.
Finding these traits is not easy. Not because there aren't people who would love to be like that. But because so much of the tech world has trained people to work in what Cal Newport calls the “hyper-active hivemind”. Noisy, interruption-prone open offices (coupled with just as noisy Slack channels) are the norm.
But there's something almost magic when I explain to people that I will not be running 1:1s with them, other than a couple of times a year.
When I tell engineers that (provided they comply with the task’s specs and overall architectural guidelines) they are free to make decisions on how to best build something. They don't need my permission, and they don't need to consult with the rest of the team.
I've gotten used to it: after an initial momentary confusion, people who get empowered like this, become extremely productive.
(Incidentally, trusting people this way is what allows me, as a leader, to stay “in the work”. My best contributions happen when I'm close to the code and the overall architecture. I do a disservice to everyone by getting bog down on people management and hand-holding.)
I've worked with many engineers who, after joining, have made the transition to this model. But there's also something that can be done to attract talent like that in the first place.
It's all about what gets offered. For me, it is usually:
Remote‑first by design.
Almost meetings‑free: long, uninterrupted blocks of productive time.
No tool mandates: choose your stack, your setup, your style. I’ll only judge outcomes.
Most people attracted to this environment are exactly the ones who thrive in it: owners who manage themselves, and craftspeople who care about the details.
I see so many companies these days insisting or even mandating how their people should work. This happens a lot with AI, where leaders assume they know best1 how engineers will be most productive (and, surprise surprise, it involves using AI left right and centre).
I don't care if you want to handcraft your code on TextMate, or if you're all-in on the latest specs-driven AI hype. Build me high-quality software in a reasonable amount of time, and I'll cheer you on and support you all the way.
The takeaway
Simplicity isn’t about doing less; it’s about removing friction so the essentials shine. Team‑building works the same way. Strip away the noise, and you’re left with people who own, manage, and craft.
That’s the kind of team worth building (and leading).
For example, https://x.com/tobi/status/1909251946235437514