Sean Rad

The more you get to the essence of something, the simpler it actually becomes. And it's like fools make things more complex. So prioritizing and picking our battles was very critical. That became a little harder as we scaled. In the early days, we were very much one team, all building towards one product. Everyone was involved in one release. We all knew what everyone was doing.

The more you get to the essence of something, the simpler it actually becomes. And it's like fools make things more complex. So prioritizing and picking our battles was very critical. That became a little harder as we scaled. In the early days, we were very much one team, all building towards one product. Everyone was involved in one release. We all knew what everyone was doing.

Even by the time we were like 100 people, that was still the case. And then our server point, once we expanded, you had to sort of divide and conquer and you had more capabilities and you had more teams. So you wanted to feed them with projects. So you lowered your bar of what you would do. And then I think the clarity and focus started to dwindle.

Even by the time we were like 100 people, that was still the case. And then our server point, once we expanded, you had to sort of divide and conquer and you had more capabilities and you had more teams. So you wanted to feed them with projects. So you lowered your bar of what you would do. And then I think the clarity and focus started to dwindle.

Even by the time we were like 100 people, that was still the case. And then our server point, once we expanded, you had to sort of divide and conquer and you had more capabilities and you had more teams. So you wanted to feed them with projects. So you lowered your bar of what you would do. And then I think the clarity and focus started to dwindle.

And then we had to figure out how can we divide and conquer, but all map towards one cohesive vision, which became the next challenge. We had an environment where we really wanted to give people freedom to execute. Like I hated the top-down bureaucratic approach to creation. Now I can come to the company and say, here's my vision. Here's where I think we should go, but I'm not going to solve it.

And then we had to figure out how can we divide and conquer, but all map towards one cohesive vision, which became the next challenge. We had an environment where we really wanted to give people freedom to execute. Like I hated the top-down bureaucratic approach to creation. Now I can come to the company and say, here's my vision. Here's where I think we should go, but I'm not going to solve it.

And then we had to figure out how can we divide and conquer, but all map towards one cohesive vision, which became the next challenge. We had an environment where we really wanted to give people freedom to execute. Like I hated the top-down bureaucratic approach to creation. Now I can come to the company and say, here's my vision. Here's where I think we should go, but I'm not going to solve it.

Everyone sort of bottoms up, come up with solutions and take ownership. So we really wanted to instill that bottoms up, everyone has a voice, the best ideas will win merit, meritocratic culture. And then sometimes the bigger you get, that could lead to a little bit of drift and people doing things that maybe they shouldn't be doing or they have no or the company has no business doing.

Everyone sort of bottoms up, come up with solutions and take ownership. So we really wanted to instill that bottoms up, everyone has a voice, the best ideas will win merit, meritocratic culture. And then sometimes the bigger you get, that could lead to a little bit of drift and people doing things that maybe they shouldn't be doing or they have no or the company has no business doing.

Everyone sort of bottoms up, come up with solutions and take ownership. So we really wanted to instill that bottoms up, everyone has a voice, the best ideas will win merit, meritocratic culture. And then sometimes the bigger you get, that could lead to a little bit of drift and people doing things that maybe they shouldn't be doing or they have no or the company has no business doing.

As you scale, you have to build new systems to protect against drift.

As you scale, you have to build new systems to protect against drift.

As you scale, you have to build new systems to protect against drift.

In the early days, very few people know this, but we had every user sort of got to a point where they had a lot of matches, where it was almost like you would open the app and you're like, I don't want to meet someone new. I need to make sense of all the people who already want to connect with me. So we started shifting our focus to like post-match.

In the early days, very few people know this, but we had every user sort of got to a point where they had a lot of matches, where it was almost like you would open the app and you're like, I don't want to meet someone new. I need to make sense of all the people who already want to connect with me. So we started shifting our focus to like post-match.

In the early days, very few people know this, but we had every user sort of got to a point where they had a lot of matches, where it was almost like you would open the app and you're like, I don't want to meet someone new. I need to make sense of all the people who already want to connect with me. So we started shifting our focus to like post-match.

What we wanted to do is create more moments where you could get to know your matches and find opportunities for connection. So we created this product called Moments, which was sort of Instagram stories before Instagram stories. You could share a moment, like something you're doing in the real world.

What we wanted to do is create more moments where you could get to know your matches and find opportunities for connection. So we created this product called Moments, which was sort of Instagram stories before Instagram stories. You could share a moment, like something you're doing in the real world.

What we wanted to do is create more moments where you could get to know your matches and find opportunities for connection. So we created this product called Moments, which was sort of Instagram stories before Instagram stories. You could share a moment, like something you're doing in the real world.