Key Takeaways
- Billionaire investor Vinod Khosla is hiring a chief of staff with a three-year commitment.
- Khosla emphasizes learning quickly, asking strong questions and thinking from first principles.
- Former chiefs of staff have founded companies and launched investment firms.
Vinod Khosla, 71, spends his days betting on the future. Now the Silicon Valley billionaire is hiring someone to help him decide which big ideas are worth the investment.
Khosla said in a recent post on X that he is accepting candidates for his next chief of staff.
“You won’t know every field I work in,” Khosla wrote in the post, which had nearly two million views. “What matters is how quickly you learn, the questions you ask and whether you can think from first principles.”
The job description specifies that the candidate must work in person in Menlo Park, California, and commit to the role for three years. The selected chief of staff must work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and “maintain around-the-clock availability.” They must be willing to work nights and weekends as needed.
In return, they have the opportunity to work closely with Khosla, serving as a “thought partner” to him.
“You’ll learn how Vinod evaluates opportunities and builds conviction,” the job description stated.
Khosla’s former chiefs of staff have later founded businesses and started investment firms, the description added. The job offers experience that can translate into many careers.
The role did not list a salary range. Indeed noted that demand for chiefs of staff has grown. September postings for the position were nearly 90% higher than before the pandemic.
Indeed found that the median advertised salary for chiefs of staff was $175,000 in the San Francisco Bay Area, higher than about $152,000 nationwide.
Khosla was worth $11.3 billion at the time of writing, according to Forbes.
Khosla says AI is transforming work
In an interview earlier this year with Entrepreneur, Khosla predicted that AI will be able to carry out “80% of all jobs by 2030.”
“The good news is that AI will also be available to the everyday person who has an idea to start something of their own,” he explained. “Coding, customer service, marketing and design are no longer blockers. This means millions of new entrepreneurs will be born. What I see is massive wealth creation opportunities.”
When Khosla looks at a potential investment, he asks a couple of questions: Is the project important? Will it change the world meaningfully? Is the team capable of supporting it? Also, if the founder is wrong about everything except the core idea, can they still find a way to win?
“I prefer not to invest in incremental improvements,” Khosla said. “Plans change. What matters is whether the person can navigate that.”
The trait he looks for above all else in founders is learning rate. He disclosed that he often argues with founders about positions he doesn’t believe in, just to see how they respond. Do they push back or passively just agree?
“The ones who cave are not the ones I back,” he said. “I want someone with the intellectual confidence to say I am wrong and here is why. Beyond that, I want someone who is irrational about the importance of what they are building.”
Key Takeaways
- Billionaire investor Vinod Khosla is hiring a chief of staff with a three-year commitment.
- Khosla emphasizes learning quickly, asking strong questions and thinking from first principles.
- Former chiefs of staff have founded companies and launched investment firms.
Vinod Khosla, 71, spends his days betting on the future. Now the Silicon Valley billionaire is hiring someone to help him decide which big ideas are worth the investment.
Khosla said in a recent post on X that he is accepting candidates for his next chief of staff.
“You won’t know every field I work in,” Khosla wrote in the post, which had nearly two million views. “What matters is how quickly you learn, the questions you ask and whether you can think from first principles.”
