Zach Dell

As you and I have discussed before, I love this concept that everyone's definition of good is just the best they've personally seen.

And I've been very fortunate to witness some really exceptional business cultures firsthand.

At Blackstone, where I started my career, I saw how process orientation and analytical rigor could become competitive advantage.

So the leaders of that firm had a way of encouraging teams to turn over every stone, really break businesses down to their atomic units, and deeply understand the core questions that truly mattered when evaluating companies.

And witnessing that level of disciplined analysis, thoroughness, and clarity of thinking taught me that excellence often lies in how deeply and systematically you can think through complex business problems, which in this context, at least at Blackstone, usually required deep knowledge in domains like accounting and capital markets, etc.,

At Thrive, where I went after Blackstone, I learned a very different but equally powerful form of excellence from Josh Kushner.

Josh has a remarkable ability to think clearly far into the future, recognize exceptional talent early, and see opportunities for what I'll call deal-making where others can't.

Josh's approach to, and air quotes, dealmaking is very unique, I think.

He's not penny wise and pound foolish.

He doesn't optimize for the last dollar.

He really optimizes for the next deal.

So when you work with Josh, you leave the interaction wanting to work with Josh again.

He's creative, he's fair, he's extremely intelligent, and he's a lot of fun to work with.

He also has totally unmatched ambition, which has been incredibly inspiring for me.

And we often talk because he's the first person I call and I have a really crazy idea, which happens frequently.

And I know that I can count on him to push me to think bigger, which is a lot of fun.

Now in building base, I'm honestly continually learning from the people around me.

So my co-founder, Justin, he's really taught me what true ownership looks like.

So taking accountability end to end without excuses.

He's mastered the concept of extreme ownership.