Yesterday, a man with a company and a vision that I respect asked an important question to a panel of seasoned entrepreneurs: how do you create a thriving company culture when it’s full of entrepreneurs?

He posed a valid question—especially in the Silicon Valley. I’ve moved to a place where you can almost shake your piggy bank, and some nearby startup will perk up its entrepreneurial ears with salivating intent. Entrepreneurs flock to this hacker haven.

This important question came at a wonderful time in my life. Not only have I been meeting with startups one-on-one to understand their culture, but as I write this, UCLA commences another academic year, as well. This means recruitment season for UCLA’s Entrepreneurship Fraternity Sigma Eta Pi. So before my brothers in the fraternity choose who they would like to include in our family for this academic year, I offered advice on how they could approach this recruitment season while keeping culture in mind. Sure, I don’t consider companies and fraternities to be the same, but, in the end, the essence exists. Where there’s people, there’s culture, and here I offer a few thoughts on how to cultivate culture when it brims with entrepreneurs.

• Entrepreneurs can recognize other entrepreneurs. There’s just something different about them that can only make a fellow entrepreneur crack a smile. Once you recognize that difference, choosing people for your culture becomes much easier.
• On the other hand, don’t pigeonhole entrepreneurs; they don’t all embody the brash, Steve Jobs-type. Sure, the news of the posthumous alpha-CEO can sway us to believe that only the cocky and crass succeed as an entrepreneur. But let us remember that the best leaders know when to follow—including Jobs.
• Make sure all of the entrepreneurs you include in your culture feel passion for your vision. If they all have a message to build and rally around, then your culture will flourish.
• Be honest and communicate openly. Sometimes entrepreneurs can be closed people. I mean, ever hear of an entrepreneur who thought their business idea was so hot that they didn’t share it with anybody? Well, the best way to face suspicion is through openness and honesty.
• Lastly, screw my advice. Seriously. If you’re still intrigued and reading my pontifications, then you must be an entrepreneur yourself—or at least someone open enough to listen and consider feedback. As such, entrepreneurs adapt to serve their market. If you care about it enough, your culture is one of your markets. So it should adapt to meet the demands of its current members. You and your team are the consumers, and you know what you want.