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Every company has a rocky beginning.

Sam Altman

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Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
Rocky
Beginning
Company
Every

More quotes by Sam Altman

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You cannot create a market that doesn't want to exist.
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In the early stage of a startup, hiring senior people is usually a mistake. You just want people that get stuff done.
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Founders are usually very stingy with equity to employees and very generous with equity to investors. I think this is totally backwards.
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The other piece besides focus for execution is intensity. Startups only work at a fairly intense level.
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... if you talk to say any of the first 40 or 50 employees, they all feel like they were a part of the founding of the company.
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So you should always stay on top of people's vesting schedules.
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In the beginning of a company, there is no management and this actually works really well.
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Don't let the company get distracted or excited about other things. A common mistake is that companies get excited by their own PR.
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For most of the early hires you make in a startup, experience doesn't matter very much, and you should go for aptitude.
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I believe in fighting with investors to reduce the amount of equity they get and then being as generous as you possibly can with employees.
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If someone is getting every decision wrong, that's when you need to act, and at that point it'll be painfully aware to everyone.
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You should always know how you're doing against your metrics. You should always have a weekly review meeting every week.
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You should think about for the next 10 years, you're going to be giving out 3-5% of the company every year.
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Unpopular but right is what you're going for.
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Growth and momentum are what a startup lives on and you always have to focus on maintaining these.
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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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Or a way to stay on strangers couches, that just sounds terrible all around.
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You should be able to describe any employee as an animal at what they do.
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You need to figure out what the 2 or 3 most important things are, and then just do those.
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You have to be decisive. Indecisiveness is a startup killer.
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