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You can create value with breakthrough innovation, incremental refinement, or complex coordination. Great companies often do two of these. The very best companies do all three.

Sam Altman

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Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
Two
Companies
Best
Innovation
Great
Value
Incremental
Create
Coordination
Company
Refinement
Values
Breakthrough
Often
Complexes
Three
Complex

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You need to have a culture where people have very high quality standards in everything the company does, but still move quickly.
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Cofounder relationships are among the most important in the entire company.
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You need conviction in your own beliefs, and the willingness to ignore others naysaying.
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It really is true that you become an average of the people you spend the most time with.
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In YC's case, the number one cause of early death for startups is cofounder blowups.
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Aim to be the best in the world at whatever you do professionally. Even if you miss, you'll probably end up in a pretty good place.
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You have to let your team get all the credit for all the good stuff that happens, and you take responsibility for the bad stuff.
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The role of the board is advice and consent. If the CEO does not lay out a clear strategy and tries to get the board to set one, it will usually end in disaster.
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So it's worth some real up front time to think through the long term value and the defensibility of the business.
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No growth hack, brilliant marketing idea, or sales team can save you long term if you don't have a sufficiently good product.
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If you want something in a deal, just ask for it.
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Firing people is one of the worst parts of running a company. Actually in my own experience, I think it is the worst.
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The second part of how to hire: try not to.
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The startups that do well are the ones that are working all the time.
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When lack of structure fails, it fails all at once. What works totally fine from 0-20 employees, is disastrous at 30.
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We talk to a team they've gotten new things done, that's the best predictor we have that a company will be successful.
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The single word that matters most I think to keep the company productive as it grows is alignment.
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... you can think about that for everyone you hire: will I bet the future of this company on this single hire? And that's a tough bar.
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When it comes to starting startups, in many ways, it's easier to start a hard startup than an easy startup.
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