🤝 建立信任的基石：Reid Hoffman认为，在投资前主动向创始人提供推荐人名单，是一种建立双向信任的关键策略。他鼓励创始人联系他过去合作过的任何人，无论正面或负面评价，以此全面了解他的能力和合作风格，从而消除潜在的疑虑。

💡 双向尽职调查的实践：Hoffman将“尽职调查”视为一个双向过程。他不仅期望创始人了解他，也主动提供信息，让创始人能更深入地评估他是否适合作为合作伙伴，尤其是在像OpenAI这样的关键时刻，他主动提供推荐人名单，以帮助创始人理解他与前任合作者（如Elon Musk）的区别。

🌟 推荐人价值的深度挖掘：Hoffman强调，推荐人的反馈比简历或面试更能揭示一个人的真实行为，尤其是在压力和不确定性下的表现。他认为，参考推荐人的意见，特别是那些可能给出负面评价的人，能提供更全面、更动态的洞察，这对于组建高效团队至关重要。

Reid Hoffman said he encourages founders to check his background before letting him invest.Hoffman said he uses this strategy to build trust, offering both positive and negative references.He applied this approach with OpenAI after Elon Musk left the startup in 2018.

Due diligence is a two-way street, according to Reid Hoffman.

In an episode of the "Possible" podcast released on Wednesday, the LinkedIn cofounder said he always asks founders to look into his background before letting him invest in their companies.

"I say: 'Look, I'm going to give you a bunch of references. I would like you to find anybody that I perfectly worked with,'" he said. "You're allowed to talk to anyone and you can tell them, they know this, that they should tell you my strengths and weaknesses."

And don't just call people who had good experiences, he added.

"I will identify people to you who I think are my negative references, people I've worked with before," Hoffman said.

Hoffman said he gave OpenAI president Greg Brockman a list of his references before investing in the AI startup. This happened after Elon Musk left the company in 2018.

"One of the natural questions you guys should ask, that you might feel intimidated asking, is how do I think that I'm different than Elon as a partner," he said, referring to Brockman and Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO.

Hoffman cofounded LinkedIn in 2003 and stepped down as its CEO in 2009. He was involved with the professional networking platform until Microsoft acquired it in 2016.

Hoffman served on the board of OpenAI from 2019 to 2023. His other investments include Airbnb, self-driving firm Aurora, and air transportation company Joby Aviation.

The serial founder and angel investor has been a big advocate for referrals and has said he prioritizes them over interviews.

"One thing I've learned when building teams: when you can, give more weight to references than to interviews or résumés," Hoffman wrote in a LinkedIn post in July.

"It's not that interviews or credentials don't matter, but they can be static signals," he added. "What they often miss is how someone behaves under pressure, in uncertainty, with a team."