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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

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Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
Things
Hobbies
Probably
Family
Many
Thing

More quotes by Sam Altman

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Most founders have not managed people before, and they certainly haven't managed managers.
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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.
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Most investors are obsessed with the market size today and they don't think about how the market is going to evolve.
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You have to save the vision speeches for when the company is winning. When you're not winning, you just have to get momentum back.
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Cofounder relationships are among the most important in the entire company.
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Obsess about the quality of the product.
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Losing focus is another way that founders get off track.
Sam Altman
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The most important thing is that there is clear reporting structure and everyone knows what it is.
Sam Altman
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Growth solves (nearly) all problems
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In YC's case, the number one cause of early death for startups is cofounder blowups.
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For most software startups, this translates to keep growing. For hardware startups, it translates to don't let your ship date slip.
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In general though, if you look at the track record of pivots, they don't become big companies.
Sam Altman
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The company just needs to see you as like this maniacal execution machine.
Sam Altman
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1 of the hardest parts about being a founder, is that there are a 100 important things competing for your attention each day.
Sam Altman
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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.
Sam Altman
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So always keep momentum, it's this prime directive for managing a startup.
Sam Altman
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To get the very best people- they have a lot of great options, and so it can easily take a year to recruit someone.
Sam Altman
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Be suspicious of any work that is not building product or getting customers.
Sam Altman
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If you want something in a deal, just ask for it.
Sam Altman
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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.
Sam Altman