“I think the mission basically doesn’t matter.”

Waseem Daher, CEO of Pilot (and South Park Commons alum), has a contrarian theory about what actually drives startup success—and it’s not passion for the problem you’re solving.

Waseem joins General Partner Aditya Agarwal to unpack the real patterns behind building companies: why his “thinking time” after Dropbox was torture, why he believes passion is an output rather than an input, and why the conventional wisdom on hiring and delegation is dangerously wrong.

Passion is the output, not the input. If you're searching for purpose, find great people and build alongside them.

Every idea comes with a thousand reasons why it won't work. You can spiral forever. Pick your most interesting idea and go test it.

Waseem is speaking from experience when he says that the milestones won't make you feel like you've “arrived.” The game never ends.

Minus One is series about the winding journeys the world’s most interesting people take to becoming great—and what they do when figuring out a question we all face: What’s Next? Because before you launch at Zero, you have to figure out what to launch at Minus One. Hosted by South Park Commons Partners.

Interested in SPC? Apply to join us here.

You Don't Need "Passion" to Build a $1B…