The Secret Power of Founding Teams With Shared History and Deep Trust

The story of PayPal’s founding team reveals a powerful truth: when people start with deep trust, shared experience, and a history of 'prehistory,' they move faster and more confidently—even amid chaos. Many early hires came from overlapping circles: engineering clubs, academic networks, and old friends who’d already worked together under pressure. This meant that, rather than spending months building trust from scratch, the team could push forward at breakneck speed. They took debate less personally and bounced back more quickly from mistakes—because they saw each other not as strangers but as allies with shared stakes.

Of course, this approach isn’t risk-free. A team made up entirely of friends can lead to an echo chamber if leaders aren’t careful about surfacing dissent or adding new voices. Moreover, if the time comes for someone to leave, emotional ties can make it painfully complicated. Still, for PayPal, the advantages of 'network hiring' showed in the long run: rapid iteration, high resilience, and an environment where mistakes were swiftly forgiven (as long as lessons were learned).

Modern research on business and high-performing teams supports this model. Studies find that when team members trust each other from the outset—and when they have navigated high-stakes situations together in the past—communication is cleaner, risk-taking rises, and morale is higher. That doesn’t mean you should only hire friends, but it does suggest that who you invite to co-create in the earliest days shapes what’s possible.

Think about the people you already trust and have tackled tough projects or late-night problems with before—pick up the phone or send a message inviting them into your next idea, even if it's just for a brainstorming session. Make space to lay out both what excites you and what might go wrong, so everyone understands the stakes and expectations. Remember to keep communication direct and open, especially around mistakes or tough calls, so these relationships stay strong even when stress runs high. Use your existing network as a launchpad, but always be ready to listen for fresh perspectives from outsiders too.