Aim to be the best in the world at whatever you do professionally. Even if you miss, you'll probably end up in a pretty good place.

The other piece besides focus for execution is intensity. Startups only work at a fairly intense level.

If you compromise in the first five, ten hires it might kill the company.

As you grow, it feels hopelessly corporate but it really is worth putting in place these compensation bands.

In general don't start a startup you're not willing to work on for ten years.

In the early days of a startup, people's compensation is whatever you negotiate with a founder and it's all over the place.

You also want to fire people who a) create office politics, and b) who are persistently negative.