At Link Exchange, the company hired conventionally qualified people (those with the right resume for the role) but they did not fit the company's values or operating model, and this mismatch between talent and culture meant that when the company was sold to Microsoft, Tony Shay realized the company he built was no longer the company he wanted to work at, which motivated the intense culture-first hiring at Zappos.

causalpending

Speaker

Alfred Lin

Evidence Quote

they didn't fit the way we operated they didn't fit the way we Val what we valued

Source

Sequoia VC Reveals: The One Trait That Built Airbnb, DoorDash & ZapposThe Knowledge Project Podcast
Created: 8/11/2026, 1:30:28 AM

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