My favorite restaurant in the world is a little sushi place in San Francisco. Roger, the owner/chef, is pictured center here with me and one of my good friends, Om. Roger is a true culinary genius. He's one the most passionate people I've ever met and there's so much a guy like him can teach anyone doing a startup.

1. Treat Work Like a Hobby. Roger works six days a week at his restaurant and he almost never takes a vacation. If he does, the whole place closes. He calls being a sushi chef his "hobby". I love that. He is not being coy, either. It reflects an honesty about vocation that is really rare. He loves to play, and his play is his work. Your startup should definitely be your hobby... just maybe not your only one...

2. Create An Experience. Roger loves to entertain his guests. His meals become a true experience from start to finish. The stories behind the fish, the banter, the creativity as he makes up a new dish on-the-fly, the revelation of something new he's experimenting with.  He knows that what surrounds a food makes the sensation of eating it all the more enjoyable. The same thing applies to whatever it is you're building in your company. If you're just pushing a product out the door, you're just serving cold fish... the opportunity to make your customers part of a larger mission/experience is a highly desirable goal.

3. Don't Take No For An Answer. When you first come to his place and sit at the sushi bar, Roger will ask you what you don't like. He may well then proceed to give that very thing to you if he senses that your objection is merely from a lack of exposure. I've seen it time and time again. "I hate Salmon"... up comes a plate with 4 kinds of Salmon, "Just try these. If you don't like them, you never have to eat Salmon again." He's made many a new Salmon lover, Mackerel lover, Octopus lover or Sea Urchin lover with this method... The lesson here is obvious: Customers don't always know what they like or dislike, they only think they do. Sometimes it pays to push their boundaries, just do so in a comforting way.

4. Go For Quality, Not Cost. Roger orders all of his fish directly himself every single day and he only buys what is fresh. He the only sushi chef in the city with several kinds of uncommon fish on any given day... stuff like flying fish or pencil fish or rare Japanese fish like Kinki. He buys the best because that's what his customers want. But they want it because Roger introduced them to that level of quality. If he had stayed focused exclusively on more cost-effective options, none of us would have the benefit of his exemplary artistry. In the tech industry, the same rules apply: "Pay" for quality people, resources, design, and even "pay" to get quality customers, especially in the early stages...  Pervasive hallmarks of quality add up to an entirely different level of execution. It sets the DNA of everything you do. Note that in the business case, the currency you pay might be time (waiting for the right hire) or labor (working to get it done right), not just money.

Roger is a joyous man operating at the apex of his profession. Whenever I see somebody like this, I know there's tons to be learned. You just have to shut up and watch... and in this case, eat!