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Most startups are not nearly focussed enough. They work hard...maybe, but they don't work hard on the right things.

Sam Altman

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Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
Focussed
Nearly
Maybe
Enough
Right
Hard
Work
Things

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Every company has a rocky beginning.
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No matter what you choose, build stuff and be around smart people.
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You cannot create a market that doesn't want to exist.
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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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Most good founders that I know at any given time have a set of small overarching goals for the company that everybody in the company knows.
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Cofounder relationships are among the most important in the entire company.
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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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You need this sort of a tailwind to make a startup successful.
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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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One thing that founders always underestimate is how hard it is to recruit.
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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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If you don't need it yourself, and you're building something that someone else needs, realize you're at a big disadvantage.
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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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I think as a rough estimate, you should aim to give about 10% of the company to the first 10 employees.
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A small communication breakdown is enough for everyone to be working on slightly different things. And then you loose focus.
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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 way to have a company that executes well is you have to execute well yourself.
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Startups are very hard no matter what you do you may as well go after a big opportunity.
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Because so few people make an actual long term commitment to what they're building, the ones that do have a huge advantage.
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The most important thing is that there is clear reporting structure and everyone knows what it is.
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