> and of the people who were interested in Katamari, I asked the ones who I thought were the coolest to join the team
Moment of silence for the death of "culture fit" in companies. I know it was not all great and warped hiring in ways that were problematic but there's something to be said for working on a project with other people who you know will just "get it."
No one's preventing you from hiring just people you get along with/personally like when you're a tiny company.
When you start becoming a big tech company whose products have the power to bend entire societies though, that's when people typically start calling for more accountability in hiring practices.
I was exited once for being a bad culture fit where I had questioned and organized against the bullying of employees to work for free on their stat holiday, and it was labor day for crying out loud.
That's basically what parent poster said, with the most negative possible spin. Yeah, maybe the leader of the company doesn't want to put up with argumentative bullshit, and just wants to do cool and fun stuff with people who are excited to do it.
Moment of silence for the death of "culture fit" in companies. I know it was not all great and warped hiring in ways that were problematic but there's something to be said for working on a project with other people who you know will just "get it."