Most people probably say this just to be like “I know Nat, look at me.” I don’t know how to phrase this to avoid that: Nat is an incredible person. I’ve been l

Most people probably say this just to be like “I know Nat, look at me.” I don’t know how to phrase this to avoid that: Nat is an incredible person. I’ve been lucky to get to know him over the past couple months. Not only is he super chill, but he’s also not afraid to ask basic questions. Many of you might roll your eyes at that, but it’s a real problem: when you’re organizing something, you feel pressured to know everything, or else you’ll lose people’s confidence. So all the people who try to act confident also rarely ask basic questions. Hackers are the opposite. We’re always focused on breaking down problems into the most basic components, and then building up complexity once we understand the system. When Nat reached out to me, I didn’t know what to expect. But I certainly didn’t expect him to be a fellow hacker that happened to be famous. I think it’s incredible that someone can go so long without losing that spirit — imagine suddenly having a boatload of money. Most of us would probably take things easier. Another surprise is how incredibly chill he is. When things go seriously wrong, he’s totally cool about it, in a way that’s hard to put into words. I learned the phrase “No stress, friend” from him, and I’ve used it a few times to soothe other people. As cliche as it sounds, sometimes it’s the one thing in the world you need to hear. I wish I could tell a certain story to underscore the point, but Nat’s stories are his to tell. I hope he writes a book someday — nothing fancy, just a raw thought stream of all his experiences. And I wish I could share his future ambition. It’s so exciting that I can hardly contain myself. It might not work out, but that’s true of everything. I don’t know if anyone will see this. But I just wanted to write a little note to say how rare Nat is. He actually cares — deeply — and also cares about you. Most leaders don’t. If someone reading this has the opportunity to work with him on his new project, I encourage you to leave your cushy job on that basis alone. It’ll be fun in a way you won’t experience elsewhere.