Culture is defined as the implicit set of behaviors within a company that guide employees on how to act, especially when not explicitly instructed.

A strong culture supports a good business and can have intangible benefits that are hard to describe, making it crucial to focus on culture early in your startup.

At the early stage of your startup, it's important to think about culture because the first 20 employees will shape the company's cultural DNA and influence future hiring and training.

If you hire the wrong people early on, those mistakes will propagate, making it much harder to correct course and build a coherent company culture later.

To build a strong and coherent culture, have conversations with your co-founder about the culture you want to create; it doesn't require a lot of time.

Be proud of the problem you're solving; if you don't identify with the problem, it will be hard to maintain the energy and enthusiasm needed to sustain the company.

Creating a long-term vision that inspires others is essential; it should give purpose to the work being done and attract people who want to be part of that mission.

A compelling vision, like Tesla's goal to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy, can attract a broad array of talent and help build a strong culture.

Microsoft's original vision of having a computer on every desk in every home attracted the right type of people and helped build the culture necessary for its success.

Google's mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful illustrates how a clear purpose can guide a company's culture without mentioning specific products. Building a strong company culture starts with having a conversation with your co-founder about the values and behaviors you want to cultivate.

Create a shortlist of values, ideally less than five, to guide your hiring process and ensure you attract the right people to your startup.

Your company's culture should be externally focused, prioritizing how you serve customers over internal dynamics, to foster long-term success.

Fostering a culture that embraces diverse opinions can enhance creativity and problem-solving within your team.

It's crucial to have discussions about diversity early on, rather than waiting until your company has grown significantly.

Establish a hiring plan from day one that incorporates the values and diversity goals you've discussed with your co-founder.

Regularly assess your hiring process and the cultural fit of new employees to ensure alignment with your company's values.

Conversations with your co-founder about culture and values should be ongoing to adapt and improve as your company grows.

Simple, informal discussions can help lay the groundwork for a strong company culture without being overly time-consuming.