1/ Good co-founders and teams make or break a startup. Here's is what I learnt from founding @BooksAndPeople_ some 7 years ago:

2/ When picking co-founders or hires, It is important to pay attention to 3 highs – high intelligence, high energy, and high integrity – broadly, and 5 Cs – Calling, Competence, Character, Chemistry, and Capacity – specifically.

3/「3 highs」
High Intelligence: Choosing to work with highly intelligent people is essential for a startup to be successful

High Energy: It takes people with sustained high energy to survive the startup grind

High Integrity: Having high integrity is about being highly ethical

4/ @naval and @nivi spoke extensively about the three highs as well https://nav.al/rich . What they spoke about corroborated with my own experiences

5/ 「5 Cs」Calling, Character, Competence, Chemistry and Capacity

Calling: There is usually a distinct and unmistakable calling in the life of an entrepreneur. It is essential that an entrepreneur can discern if would-be co-founders or hires share the same calling.

Character: Never compromise on character. It is everything. Character reveals the inner moral compass of an individual.

Competence: A good person with good character does not always produce good work. This happens when there is a mismatch of talents and role. There has to be a match in abilities and roles, except for the purpose of challenging growth and development.

Chemistry: It is all about team fit and camaraderie. It is difficult to change someone to fit into an existing culture. Therefore, a founder must ensure a right fit at the point of teammates selection.

Capacity: Capacity must not be confused with capability. Capacity is the inner & emotional strength which allows a person to function efficaciously even when under pressure. Never neglect capacity development.

end/ this thread came from my essay: http://jacksng.com/the-founder-co-founders-and-teams-high-intelligence-high-energy-and-high-integrity-calling-competence-character-chemistry-and-capacity/