Founder Obsession No Limits No Pay | Generated by AI
“No Pay. No Ego. No Life.” - Spenser Skates’ Founder Philosophy
This Startup Archive post (from May 2025) captures a striking philosophy that Spenser Skates developed early in building Amplitude. Here’s what he describes:
The Extreme Founder Archetype
Skates created what he calls an almost fanatical persona that he tried to embody:
“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.”
He acknowledges this is an extreme archetype that almost no sane person would attempt to emulate.
The Logic Behind It
His reasoning was straightforward: The fewer distractions, the greater the chance of building something great.
On not paying himself: Citing Peter Thiel’s observation that CEO pay is anti-correlated with company success, Skates decided to simply not pay himself anything.
The cumulative advantage: His approach was to stack every advantage, even small ones, thinking “The more I can be this person, the more likely it is I’ll build a successful company”.
Context
This excerpt comes from the same Kleiner Perkins “Grit” podcast interview from April 2025 that we discussed earlier. It reveals the intensity and single-minded focus that characterized Skates’ early years building Amplitude—a willingness to sacrifice nearly everything else for a shot at building something meaningful.
It’s a pretty raw look at the extreme mindset some founders adopt, though it raises obvious questions about sustainability and whether such an approach is necessary (or even advisable) for success.