Anthropic Co-Founder Recommends Traveling Before Starting a Startup

AIMPACT News: On May 12 (UTC+8), Daniela Amodei, co-founder and president of Anthropic, said during a speech at Stanford Graduate School of Business that before officially starting a company, entrepreneurs should do one thing above all else—not immediately write a business plan, but “go travel together first.” She added: “Instead of jumping straight into starting a company, take a vacation together first. Even consider sharing a room and see how it feels in the end.” Daniela Amodei believes that if, after the trip, your feeling is “I want to spend more time with this person,” then you may be well-suited for a long-term partnership; but if you feel “I need another vacation just to recover after this trip,” then that person is likely not the right co-founder. She revealed that a major reason for the high stability of Anthropic’s founding team is that its members have known each other for years. Including her brother, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, most founders previously worked together at OpenAI and had already established mature feedback and communication mechanisms. Daniela also emphasized that the most critical factor between co-founders is “shared vision.” She illustrated this by saying that if two founders were locked in a room and asked to independently draw what their future company would look like, “one shouldn’t draw a unicorn while the other draws a platypus.” Paul Graham has long warned entrepreneurs that when choosing a co-founder, “personality and long-term commitment” matter more than skills. Y Combinator, Bonobos, and numerous Silicon Valley investors also commonly advise testing the partnership before launching—through high-pressure communication, role definition, extended time spent together, or even a “marriage test.” (Source: BlockBeats)