A founder explains why most leaders get employee loyalty backwards. He supports people leaving to start their own companies, writes checks for former employees, and treats departures as permanent relationships, not exits. This care is what separates him from founders who see workers as replaceable.
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The conversations that I have with my employees at different companies are always so open and transparent, and they know that I, beyond anything, I'm trying to help them reach whatever their goals are in their lives. And if that means taking a ride with me on a rocket ship for 2 years and then they want to go and do something else, or they want to launch their own business or their own company, they know I'm the first person that's going to write a check, help them get a job, like do whatever it is for them. And so I think having that relationship with people and people knowing that you actually do care about them, not that you're just gonna write them off as soon as they leave your company, I think is the total differentiator. Most CEOs and founders I meet do not have the employee at the forefront of their minds.