December 3, 2008
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Me and My Seven Genius Friends
I love this little anecdote from Paul Graham’s latest essay:
The eight men who left Shockley Semiconductor to found Fairchild Semiconductor, the original Silicon Valley startup, weren’t even trying to start a company at first. They were just looking for a company willing to hire them as a group. Then one of their parents introduced them to a small investment bank that offered to find funding for them to start their own, so they did. But starting a company was an alien idea to them; it was something they backed into.
Isn’t it sweet — not usually a word you associate with Silicon Valley — to think about these eight men and their affection for, and loyalty to, one another?
That’s an under-recognized part of the startup motivation, I think: the desire to work with exactly the people you want to work with.
Comments
Thats an under-recognized part of the startup motivation, I think: the desire to work with exactly the people you want to work with.
Absolutely! That's the main reason (if not the only reason) I ever even considered the idea of starting a company.