Garry Tan

When I was growing up, I was an atheist because I looked at what I experienced as a child, and I just didn't believe that basically God is supposed to be all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful.

And I looked at how I was growing up and I was like, one of these things is wrong.

Tell me something you believe now that you didn't believe when you were young.

The biggest one, I think, is that when I was 22 or so, friends of mine were starting a company.

And they said, Gary, you're at Microsoft.

You're the smartest engineer we know.

We're starting this company.

You've got to come and quit your job.

And I was like, man, I don't know, man.

Whatever you guys are doing, I got a job, OK?

It was so hard to get this job.

What are you guys doing?

They finally convinced me to fly down to San Francisco from Seattle.

And I had dinner with their benefactor.

Turned out to be Peter Thiel.

It was probably within a few months of him writing the $500,000 check to Facebook.

And so it's me, my two buddies, Joe Lonsdale and Stephan Cohen, and Peter Thiel.

And Peter is like, what are you doing at Microsoft, man?

You got to quit your job.

I didn't realize this was like a whole shtick that you have to do as an investor or as a co-founder.