Have been lucky to meet with or study hundreds of companies in 2021.

Here's an ongoing list of company attributes that I find interesting...

1. Operations Focus

“Amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics.” A grand vision is great, but the best companies are often focused on challenging but tangible near term goals. If a founder can’t move from vision to on the ground details quickly...bad sign

2. Life’s work

To borrow a concept from @nikiscevak, it is thrilling to find someone doing their “life’s work.” When someone's personal path lines and formative experiences line up with the problem a company is solving, I get excited. "Life's work" is a source of perseverance

3. Synchronized team

Well managed internal communication is a huge advantage.

This is often evident

1) in internal routines, words and phrases with unique meaning

and

2) consistent answers to questions about the company’s plans from a variety of different insiders

4. Jobs as a product

I like when management teams view jobs inside their business as a product to be built, designed, and sold like any other product.

Everyone is struggling to hire great talent, so a differentiated strategy in hiring matters as much as anything.