Surrounding Yourself With Exceptional People - William Quigley (Part 2), co-founder of Tether & Wax, first institutional investor in Paypal

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In his second appearance on the Work in Fintech podcast William Quigley and Matt Cheung discuss career options, education, big companies vs startups and it what it takes to succeed when you start your own company.
William Quigley, a long-time VC - he was Paypal's first institutional investor - and entrepreneur, from gaming to blockchain (he cofounded Tether and WAX) shares his insights on:

• Foundational skills, such as critical thinking, are valuable in career development.
• A university education can provide a broad set of skills and opportunities.
• Working in a large, established company can offer exposure to exceptional business practices and experienced professionals.
• Assessing the financial health of a company and understanding market perceptions is important for career stability.
• Identifying opportunities and launching new products or services requires assessing market demand and managing resources effectively. Finding a co-founder or small team is important when starting a startup to share the workload and bring complementary skills.
• Assessing who would work well as a co-founder is a skill that needs to be developed.
• Consider the amount of capital needed and the potential for growth when deciding whether to raise funding.
• Surround yourself with exceptional people who challenge and push you to grow.
• Curiosity is a key trait for entrepreneurs and can lead to insights and new business ideas.
• Assess the size and potential growth of an industry to guide career decisions and identify opportunities.

https://x.com/williamequigley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewcheung50/

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1. Introduction and Recap from part 1 (00:00:00)

2. Fork in the road - big decisions early in your career (00:01:45)

3. Choosing between Large Companies and Startups (00:07:55)

4. Working in a startup (00:14:00)

5. When to take risk in your career (00:19:14)

6. Assessing the financial health of a company (00:22:37)

7. Identifying opportunities and launching new products (00:26:10)

8. Can you afford to start a startup (00:32:32)

9. Should you raise money (vs potential for growth) (00:35:17)

10. Key roles to hire in the early stages of a startup (00:43:34)

11. Surrounding yourself with exceptional people (00:51:05)

12. The hardest decision for entrepreneurs and investors (and how to enable your career growth) (01:02:18)