Tristan Walker
Tristan Walker is the founder and CEO of Walker & Co., which makes health and beauty products for people of color. He previously headed business development for Foursquare and was Entrepreneur in Residence at Andreessen Horowitz.
“We heard 99 percent ‘no’s.”
— Tristan Walker

The best business ideas often seem laughable at first glance. So if you’re hearing a chorus of “No’s” — it may actually be a good sign. So don’t be discouraged by rejection. Instead, learn the different kinds of “no.” That’s what Tristan Walkder did. After stints at successful startups, he launched Walker & Company, makers of the Bevel razor, and learned the secret of how to talk with investors who may or may not share your vision.
A strong company culture emerges when every employee feels they own the culture — and this starts before the first job interview. Netflix’s outgoing CEO Reed Hastings built a high-performing culture at Netflix by being upfront about who Netflix is, in the company’s famous culture deck. It won’t appeal to everyone — and that’s the point. If you can define your culture, while resonating with a diverse group of employees, you have a winning formula.