One of the things that first attracted me to working with startup founders is their exhilarating desire to change the world. Within the ecosystem is the startup founder who views changing the world as starting with or at least including the quality of the company they create and not just what the company does. There is a difference in the type of business built with an exit in mind from day one and the type built with the idea of creating a legacy, even though an exit may be on the horizon. The latter seems more likely to place emphasis on how the company serves the people who are part of it as well as the people who invest in it or benefit from its products or services. Values and culture are treated as essential, not add-on. One client founder, when asked about his exit strategy, would repeat "I'm building a 100-year company." This company became renown within the industry for its culture and customer relationships and eventually had a highly successful exit. There's also a difference in the type of leaders who join the startup team with an exit in mind vs. building a legacy. As a recruiter I must recognize the difference. I took the "building a legacy" types for granted until I started hiring for my own company and realized how challenging and even painstaking it can be to prioritize cultivating an empowering culture while building a profitable and scalable business, and I'm not operating at nearly their same scale! Thankfully, I have some great examples and know it can be done. #startup #startups #entrepreneurship #culture #legacy