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  • “No pay. No ego. No life.” - Spenser Skates on building a $1B company.

“No pay. No ego. No life.” - Spenser Skates on building a $1B company.

May 12, 2025

“No other commitments outside of work. No attachment to money. Obsessively curious about the work. Willing to work for very long periods of time with no success. No ego attachment to outcomes.”

Spenser imagined an extreme — almost fanatical — archetype. A persona almost no sane person would attempt to emulate.

His reasoning: The fewer distractions, the greater the chance of building something great.

Spenser adds:

“Peter Thiel said CEO pay is anti-correlated with company success. I thought — great, I’ll just not pay myself anything.”

He wanted to stack every advantage, even small ones:

“The more I can be this person, the more likely it is I’ll build a successful company.”