Quote

You need to have a culture where people have very high quality standards in everything the company does, but still move quickly.

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
Culture
Stills
Quickly
Doe
Standards
Still
Move
Everything
Company
Need
Quality
Needs
High
People
Moving

More quotes by Sam Altman

Image
Most startups are not nearly focussed enough. They work hard...maybe, but they don't work hard on the right things.
Sam Altman
Image
You're saying no ninety-seven times out of a hundred, and most founders find they have to make a very conscious effort to do this.
Sam Altman
Image
Unfortunately the trick to great execution is to say no a lot.
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
... 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
... but actually it sucks to have a lot of employees, and you should be proud of how few employees you have.
Sam Altman
Image
Long term thinking is so rare anywhere, but especially in startups. This is a huge advantage if you do it.
Sam Altman
Image
You only get points when you make something the market wants. So if you work really hard on the wrong things, no one will care.
Sam Altman
Image
... but the pendulum has swung way out of whack here. A bad idea is still bad, and the pivot happy world we're in today feels suboptimal.
Sam Altman
Image
Firing people is one of the worst parts of running a company. Actually in my own experience, I think it is the worst.
Sam Altman
Image
A single mediocre hire in the first five will often in fact kill a startup.
Sam Altman
Image
The way to have a company that executes well is you have to execute well yourself.
Sam Altman
Image
As the company grows and about this 25 or so employee size, your main job shifts from building a great product to building a great company.
Sam Altman
Image
The startups that do well are the ones that are working all the time.
Sam Altman
Image
Before product/market fit, your only job that matters is to build a great product.
Sam Altman
Image
When lack of structure fails, it fails all at once. What works totally fine from 0-20 employees, is disastrous at 30.
Sam Altman
Image
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
Image
You should be able to describe any employee as an animal at what they do.
Sam Altman
Image
Press releases are easier to write than code, and that is still easier than making a great product.
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