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The track record for founders that don't already know each other is really bad.

Sam Altman

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Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
Team
Really
Founders
Track
Record
Records
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More quotes by Sam Altman

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You need conviction in your own beliefs, and the willingness to ignore others naysaying.
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You need to have a culture where people have very high quality standards in everything the company does, but still move quickly.
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One thing that founders forget is that after they hire employees, they have to retain them.
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... fire fast when it's not working. It's better for the company, it's also better for the employee.
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Remember that the idea will expand, and become more ambitious as you go.
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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'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.
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You have to be decisive. Indecisiveness is a startup killer.
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The best people know that they should join a rocketship.
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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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So always keep momentum, it's this prime directive for managing a startup.
Sam Altman
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The hard part is that this is a very fine line. There's right on one side of it, and crazy on the other.
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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... for the top twenty most valuable YC companies, all of them have at least two founders.
Sam Altman
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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.
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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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
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... but actually it sucks to have a lot of employees, and you should be proud of how few employees you have.
Sam Altman
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Most of the best hires that I've made in my entire life have never done that thing before.
Sam Altman
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You need unstoppable people. You want people that are just going to get it done.
Sam Altman