You don't need to make the structure complicated, in fact you shouldn't. All you need is for every employee to know who their manager is.

If you look at successful pivots, they almost always are a pivot into something that the founder wanted. Not a random made up idea.

I prefer to invest in a company that's going after a small but rapidly growing market than a big but slow growing one.

A single mediocre hire in the first five will often in fact kill a startup.

If someone is difficult to talk to, if someone cannot communicate clearly, it's a real problem in terms of their likelihood to work out.

Losing focus is another way that founders get off track.

If someone is choosing between joining McKinsey or your startup it's very unlikely they're going to work out at the startup.