Culture is not a soft concept. It's what happens when the founder leaves the room.
The unit economics have to work. If they don't work at small scale, they usually don't magically fix themselves at big scale.
Great founders are missionaries, not mercenaries. Missionaries are building something they believe in. Mercenaries are just trying to make money.
The best board members are the ones who've actually run something. They know what it feels like when it's 2am and you don't know the answer.
We look for companies where if they succeed, they'll be really important. Not just valuable — important. There's a difference.
Tony taught me that if you get the culture right, most of the other stuff follows. That's the most important thing I learned at Zappos.