Former OpenAI exec says team building is like solving puzzle: ‘The teams that I’ve helped build are a team of…’

Former OpenAI executive Peter Deng believes that building the right team is like solving a complex puzzle — every piece must fit perfectly. Now a general partner at Felicis Ventures, Deng shared his views on leadership, team-building, and hiring during a recent episode of Lenny’s Podcast. Speaking at the podcast, Deng compared strong teams to the Avengers, where each member brings a different “superpower” to the table. “The teams that I’ve helped build are — the most successful ones are a team of Avengers that are just very different, have very different superpowers,” he said.

Deng is known for his work on major consumer tech products, including ChatGPT Enterprise, Facebook Messenger, and Uber Reserve. At OpenAI, he played a key role in shaping the user experience of AI tools.