Met Chen on his first day at PayPal in 1999; the two worked together for over five years before co-founding YouTube together in 2005, then AVOS Systems and MixBit in 2011-2014. Arguably the single most durable professional relationship of Chen's career, spanning 15 years across three companies.

Timeframe: 1999-2014

Married Chen in 2009 and supported him through two life-threatening brain surgeries (2007 and 2018), including a farewell letter he wrote to their children before the second operation. Jointly decided with Chen to relocate their family from San Francisco to Taiwan in 2019.

Timeframe: 2009-present

Studied computer science alongside Chen at the University of Illinois, later reconnected at PayPal, and co-founded YouTube with Chen and Hurley in 2005. Uploaded YouTube's first-ever video before leaving to attend Stanford.

Timeframe: 1996-2005

As PayPal's former CFO turned Sequoia Capital partner, Botha led Sequoia's initial $3.5 million investment in YouTube in November 2005 and joined its board, providing critical capital and credibility exactly when the company needed to escape its credit-card-funded phase.

Timeframe: 2005-2006

As a PayPal co-founder, reportedly recruited Chen out of the University of Illinois in 1999, giving Chen his entry point into Silicon Valley and the PayPal network that would eventually produce his YouTube co-founders and his first investor connections.

Timeframe: 1999