To avoid loneliness, successful entrepreneurs should cultivate two distinct friendship circles. One consists of industry peers who understand the unique challenges of their work. The other is made of local friends who connect with them as a person, completely separate from their professional identity.

Founders must accept a lifestyle that excludes most social activities. The intense, shared mission of building a company fosters deep connections with colleagues that supplant traditional friendships. This sacrifice is a prerequisite for high-commitment entrepreneurship.

The long-standing relationship between PhonePe's co-founders, built on deep trust, allows them to be interchangeable in their roles. This enables one to step back during difficult periods while the other steps in, ensuring resilience through crises.

The most effective masterminds consist of people from different industries and business stages. This diversity prevents direct comparison and fosters richer insights. The crucial factor for curation isn't similar resumes but shared values like generosity, honesty, and a willingness to learn. Energy alignment trumps expertise alignment.

WCM avoids the 'family' metaphor, which implies unconditional belonging and can make performance conversations difficult. They prefer framing the team as 'a group of friends,' which emphasizes voluntary commitment and a mutual desire not to let each other down, fostering greater accountability.