Why I Build

Many years ago, in a town hall at a major bank where I was working, our CEO stated that our mission was “to service billionaires.” I remember flinching at the phrase, at the bald awfulness of it. I had entered finance because the technical problems are some of the most compelling in the world – speed, scale, massive amounts of data – but that moment and others troubled me; the meaning in our work needs to be something more than just the challenge. Later, walking through the crowds of protestors from Occupy Wall Street and amidst all the anger surrounding the Great Financial Crisis, a sense of something wrong was building.

I did not know this, but elsewhere in the world at that time, Satoshi Nakamoto was also building. At some point, they issued the Genesis Block with this quote embedded in it: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” It was a taunt and a promise that what they were building could be something better: a peer-to-peer system without intermediaries, global, trustless, efficient and secure; a way to move value and, as their creation grew and spawned further innovations, a way to build better financial systems.

I have never believed that the fate of the wolves of Wall Street is to devour their investors or to become too-big-to-fail lap dogs. Paul Tudor Jones’s “flow chart of capital” does not require that every node terminates with those who have plenty; connecting the savings of the world to the projects that support human flourishing can certainly be a noble endeavor. Crypto has not shed its wolfish nature, but the fact that something better is still not good enough is not a reason to stop building; rather, it’s a reason to keep going.

We build because it’s worth building something better.

Between labor and art lies craftsmanship, and the desire to be recognized both by the masters of your craft and by those into whose hands you deliver your work. Writing about how to do great work, Paul Graham said that “the three most powerful motives are curiosity, delight, and the desire to do something impressive. Sometimes they converge, and that combination is the most powerful of all.” Talos brings together people who take joy in building great things, not just software, but everything our clients see – and even the things they don’t see, such as the operational teams supporting our efforts or our cloud infrastructure. This spans from early connections to understand client problems, to designing and building institutional-grade software, to having someone reply 24x7 when clients are facing problems.

We build to delight the people who use our creations every day.

Of course, nothing this complex can be built alone. Talos has built a team and a culture unique in its strength, warmth and generosity. To succeed at what we are building requires a wide range of skills and a team based around the world. Reflecting on nearly 30 years of working, I know what a large part the connection to those around me has played in getting through the most difficult challenges, and in my own growth. While, in part, we are building for the people who use our work, we are also building for the people who work alongside us. There are some things no one will ever see except for your colleagues – not just behind-the-scenes work, but the finest of details that are the apex of craftsmanship. And sometimes what you build, and how you build it, is to make your colleagues’ work lighter. You should care about who you work for and work with, in both senses of the word.

We build for each other.

A manager long ago told me that the best jobs don’t exist before you arrive, and disappear when you go. Your role here might initially be something that can be described in a job listing, but if you stay long enough – and we want you to stay, to build a career here and grow – you will become a part of the place itself; the ability to belong to a place is a kind of skill not everyone has, though you should cultivate it, as it’s worth learning. Pulling it all together and making a proper seat for your ambition to do great work requires a challenging task; something that’s needed and appreciated in the world, and a team that’s up for the particular challenge. Here at Talos you can find those things all in one place.

Come join us. There is a lot to build.