Someone once asked the Stripe founders onstage what it was like working with their brother. They gave an unexpected answer I frequently repeat.
Either John or Patrick said the best thing was that they never had to think about how they should say something to the other. They just said it. They didn't have to couch their language so the other wasn't offended. They didn't have to alter their tone so the other didn't get mad. They knew that the other would hear what they said.
They had zero communication tax. The higher the tax, the more likely a relationship won't last. I don't even have that with my wife. And as the saying goes, more projects die of suicide than homicide.
Patrick Collison: “Working with people you’re close to is underrated.”
Patrick started Stripe with his brother John and Arc Institute with his wife Silvana. He offers founders the following advice:
“I think working with people you’re close to is underrated… For all of the ventures of any significance in my life, they’ve been with people that I’m very close to and who I had and would like to have an enduring relationship with. Sometimes one hears the advice that you shouldn’t work with friends or your partner, and all of these things are idiosyncratic and there are instances of every possible permutation, but for me it has been a really rewarding experience.”
He continues:
“I think John and I can work together for, you never know, life. But I think we’ll probably work together for decades. For us, it has been both an important source of meaning and fulfillment, but I also think there’s a real complementarity.”
Source: @dwarkesh_sp (Feb 2024)
