SendGrid CEO Sameer Dholakia talks about how an entrepreneur's most important task at the outset, given the intensity of startups at the early stage, is to choose co-founders who share your values. He says to be equally careful when choosing investors, and to base that decision more on the strength of the relationship, less on factors like the investment firm's worth or popularity.

Sameer Dholakia, CEO of SendGrid, stresses the importance of establishing a company's values at the start. They will determine your culture, and the type of people you attract. He says a company's culture should be defined in simple and memorable terms, and that it should convey what kinds of individuals have no place in the organization. He cites the "4H" culture at SendGrid: "Happy, Hungry, Humble and Honest."

If employees feel like owners, they'll care more about all aspects of a company, asserts Sameer Dholakia, CEO of cloud-based email platform SendGrid. He also talks about empowering employees in real ways, citing Toyota's well-known production system, where any line worker has the ability to stop manufacturing if something is wrong. Dholakia says this brings teams together to solve problems and celebrate progress.

Sameer Dholakia, CEO of SendGrid, describes how his mother - and parents, in general - are the perfect example of servant leaders: They push you to be the best and do all they can to help you succeed, while holding you accountable, all out of love. Dholakia ends with a parable about how life's goal is to understand and share our unique gift with others before we pass on ourselves.

Giving hoodies is no small thing, says SendGrid CEO Sameer Dholakia. From the military to sports, uniforms foster camaraderie and inspire individuals to work toward a shared vision of success. Dholakia also explains why money spent on ways for employees to bond outside of the office is worthwhile: They will work even harder for each other when they're back in the office.

SendGrid's Sameer Dholakia describes the concept of "servant leadership," where the traditional organizational chart is inverted so that the CEO is at the bottom of the pyramid supporting all the hard work being done by everyone else. "It is the 'golden rule' applied to leadership," Dholakia says. "Try to be the kind of leader that you would want to work for."