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You think you have this great idea that everyone's going to come join, but that's not how it works.

Sam Altman

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Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
Come
Great
Going
Join
Think
Works
Thinking
Team
Idea
Everyone
Ideas

More quotes by Sam Altman

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You have to be decisive. Indecisiveness is a startup killer.
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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
Sam Altman
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A board member of mine used to say sales fix everything in a startup, and that is really true.
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You really want to know your cofounders for a while, ideally years.
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If you want something in a deal, just ask for it.
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Startups are not the best choice for work-life balance, and that's sort of just the sad reality.
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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.
Sam Altman
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One thing that founders always underestimate is how hard it is to recruit.
Sam Altman
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The second part of how to hire: try not to.
Sam Altman
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If you compromise and hire someone mediocre you will always regret it.
Sam Altman
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You cannot create a market that doesn't want to exist.
Sam Altman
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You can basically change everything in a startup but the market.
Sam Altman
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You certainly don't need to have everything figured out in the path from here to world domination.
Sam Altman
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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.
Sam Altman
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So it's worth some real up front time to think through the long term value and the defensibility of the business.
Sam Altman
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As you grow, it feels hopelessly corporate but it really is worth putting in place these compensation bands.
Sam Altman
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Growth solves (nearly) all problems
Sam Altman
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To get the very best people- they have a lot of great options, and so it can easily take a year to recruit someone.
Sam Altman
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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.
Sam Altman
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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.
Sam Altman