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At the beginning, you should only hire when you have a desperate need to.

Sam Altman

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Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
Team
Need
Needs
Hire
Desperate
Beginning

More quotes by Sam Altman

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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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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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Some day everyone will find out everyone else's comp, if it's all over the place, it will be a complete meltdown disaster
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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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Cofounder relationships are among the most important in the entire company.
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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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What being a founder means, is signing up for this years long grind on execution - and you can't outsource this.
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Starting a business is like riding a wave between life and death. If you can hang on long enough, you're bound to succeed
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One thing that founders always underestimate is how hard it is to recruit.
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Ideas by themselves are not worth anything, only executing well is what creates value.
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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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Momentum and growth are the lifeblood of startups. This is probably in the top three secrets of executing well.
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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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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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It really is true that you become an average of the people you spend the most time with.
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The thing that kills startups at some level, is the founders giving up.
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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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Why now, why is this the perfect time for this particular idea, and to start this particular company?
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Whatever the founder cares about, whatever the founders think are the key goals, that's going to be what the whole company focusses on.
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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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