How Did Nicholas Jitkoff Choose His Co-founders?

Nicholas Jitkoff chose co-founders he had known for probably 15 years, and the choice was almost entirely about the people. He wanted to work with them, and they could figure out what to build.

He had worked with the group in different contexts. On one lower-risk 20% project at Google, he went to London to build the first iOS voice search app, almost in a hobbyist capacity, and he stayed in touch afterward. A few meetups tested the collaboration by talking through what they could build. The people wanted to build platforms and to think through the developer experience and the customer experience. He was doing company formation for the first time and had no set formula for the right approach. He looked for people he would enjoy working with, skills that complemented his, and a shared interest in company formation, organization, product definition, design, and building.

Hiring extends the same pattern. Culture is pieced together person by person, and each hiring choice takes a small step in that direction.