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So always keep momentum, it's this prime directive for managing a startup.

Sam Altman

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Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
Prime
Keep
Always
Directive
Managing
Momentum

More quotes by Sam Altman

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Aim to be the best in the world at whatever you do professionally. Even if you miss, you'll probably end up in a pretty good place.
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Long term thinking is so rare anywhere, but especially in startups. This is a huge advantage if you do it.
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You should be able to describe any employee as an animal at what they do.
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Founders need to figure out what the message of the company is going to be.
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Mediocre founders spend a lot of time talking about grand plans, but they never quite make a decision.
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You can create value with breakthrough innovation, incremental refinement, or complex coordination. Great companies often do two of these. The very best companies do all three.
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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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You need unstoppable people. You want people that are just going to get it done.
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Unfortunately the trick to great execution is to say no a lot.
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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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You can basically change everything in a startup but the market.
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You don't get to make their decisions but you do get to choose the decision makers.
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The best ideas often look terrible at the beginning the truly good ideas, don't seem like they're worth stealing.
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You have to be decisive. Indecisiveness is a startup killer.
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... you want to be proud of how much you can get done with a small numbers of employees.
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Press releases are easier to write than code, and that is still easier than making a great product.
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Obsess about the quality of the product.
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One thing that founders always underestimate is how hard it is to recruit.
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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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You don't need to make the structure complicated, in fact you shouldn't. All you need is for every employee to know who their manager is.
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