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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.

Sam Altman

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Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
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More quotes by 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.
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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.
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Unfortunately the trick to great execution is to say no a lot.
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Most good founders that I know at any given time have a set of small overarching goals for the company that everybody in the company knows.
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If you compromise and hire someone mediocre you will always regret it.
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In YC's case, the number one cause of early death for startups is cofounder blowups.
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In general, it's best if you're building something that you yourself need.
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Companies that I've been very involved with, that have had a very bad first hire in the first 3 or so employees never recover from it.
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You have to let your team get all the credit for all the good stuff that happens, and you take responsibility for the bad stuff.
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In addition to relentlessly resourceful, you want a tough and a calm cofounder.
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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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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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You should be able to describe any employee as an animal at what they do.
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No growth hack, brilliant marketing idea, or sales team can save you long term if you don't have a sufficiently good product.
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Growth solves (nearly) all problems
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The single word that matters most I think to keep the company productive as it grows is alignment.
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... you can think about that for everyone you hire: will I bet the future of this company on this single hire? And that's a tough bar.
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Firing people is one of the worst parts of running a company. Actually in my own experience, I think it is the worst.
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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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Great execution towards a terrible idea will get you nowhere.
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