Quote

The best ideas often look terrible at the beginning the truly good ideas, don't seem like they're worth stealing.

Sam Altman

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
Seems
Best
Stealing
Ideas
Beginning
Look
Truly
Looks
Worth
Good
Seem
Like
Terrible
Often

More quotes by Sam Altman

Image
Founders need to figure out what the message of the company is going to be.
Sam Altman
Image
You also want to fire people who a) create office politics, and b) who are persistently negative.
Sam Altman
Image
The most common post YC failure case for the companies we fund, is they're incredibly focussed during YC on their company... and after they start doing a lot of other things. They advise companies, they go to conferences, whatever.
Sam Altman
Image
Obsess about the quality of the product.
Sam Altman
Image
I really believe that the single hardest thing in business is building a company that does repeatable innovation... and just has this ongoing culture of excellence as it grows.
Sam Altman
Image
One of the biggest advantages that start ups have is execution speed and you have to have this relentless operating rhythm.
Sam Altman
Image
Developing a personal connection with anyone you're trying to do a big deal with is really important.
Sam Altman
Image
... fire fast when it's not working. It's better for the company, it's also better for the employee.
Sam Altman
Image
... and you can only have 2 or 3 things everyday, because everything else will just come at you you know fires in a day.
Sam Altman
Image
Whatever the founder cares about, whatever the founders think are the key goals, that's going to be what the whole company focusses on.
Sam Altman
Image
In addition to relentlessly resourceful, you want a tough and a calm cofounder.
Sam Altman
Image
... but actually it sucks to have a lot of employees, and you should be proud of how few employees you have.
Sam Altman
Image
The other piece besides focus for execution is intensity. Startups only work at a fairly intense level.
Sam Altman
Image
So always keep momentum, it's this prime directive for managing a startup.
Sam Altman
Image
You can have a startup and one other thing, you can have a family, but you probably can't have many other things.
Sam Altman
Image
The natural state of a start-up is to die most start-ups require multiple miracles in their early days to escape this fate.
Sam Altman
Image
One of the great and terrible things about starting a start up is that you get no credit for trying.
Sam Altman
Image
Growth solves (nearly) all problems
Sam Altman
Image
If you pivot, do it fully and with conviction. The worst thing is to try to do a bit of the old and the new-it's hard to kill your babies.
Sam Altman
Image
So it's worth some real up front time to think through the long term value and the defensibility of the business.
Sam Altman