I think there are some companies that are undeniably special. I think Apple was a special company. I don’t consider it very special anymore, and it seems almost impossible to maintain that same level of special through decades and trillions of dollars of growth. But at one point in time I think most would agree it was special.
I generally feel very underqualified to talk on most things, but this is something that I feel like I am actually more qualified than most to talk about. That is because I work at one of these special companies. In this article I will explain how I know that.
Every company starts with it’s founders. They are the ones who nurture some random idea they had into their entire life’s work. I think that pouring your heart and soul into one thing some small chance of actually making a difference is in and of itself a beautiful thing, but not beautiful enough to make a company special because not every startup can be special. So beyond dedicating their life to their company what else can founder’s do?
I think the key job of founders is to inspire. Because as crazy as it is to have 2-3 people devote years of their life to something, it is so much more powerful to have a hundred people doing that. And that is an incredibly hard thing to do, because when you have nurtured this little company for the past 3 years of course you are going to work your ass off to see it succeed. But if you are the 20th hire, you got a little bit of equity but nothing crazy, what incentive is there for you to work as hard as the founders? And I think in most cases the answer is that there isn’t any.
I think the distinction between good and great founders is that great founders can convince people to pour their heart and soul into the company. Not just to work hard but to truly love the company. And I really have no idea how to do that. I am trying to think of tangible things the founders of Wordware do to inspire, but its really hard to pinpoint. Of course they are insanely passionate about their company, but so is every good founder. One aspect that I think helps is that Wordware has the potential to be a massive company that has a distinct impact on the entire world, and I think that idea really appeals to the dreamers. But even then there are many companies with huge dreams. Wordware also is exceptional at hiring great people, which definitely helps keep the flywheel spinning, but that is also more of an effect of the special something than a cause. I think that each new hire has the potential to cripple the magic, but also has the potential to grow it exponentially. When you hire great people that are fully on board it builds a culture of awesomeness and insane energy.
So I will say, for now, that the main thing that makes a company special is completely intangible. You cannot recreate it, you can only feel it. I can’t explain it, but the second I started looking into Wordware I knew that was where I wanted to be. I couldn’t sleep that night because my brain was hatching plots of how I could get my foot in the door. No other company has 1/1000th of the effect on me, and I hadn’t even met the guys. Now that I work with 10 other people that are as passionate as I am that energy is even more electrifying.