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A single mediocre hire in the first five will often in fact kill 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
Often
Facts
Hire
Firsts
Mediocre
First
Kill
Single
Team
Five
Fact
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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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... but the pendulum has swung way out of whack here. A bad idea is still bad, and the pivot happy world we're in today feels suboptimal.
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As you grow, it feels hopelessly corporate but it really is worth putting in place these compensation bands.
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You really want to know your cofounders for a while, ideally years.
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If you compromise and hire someone mediocre you will always regret it.
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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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No matter what you choose, build stuff and be around smart people.
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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.
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Growth and momentum are what a startup lives on and you always have to focus on maintaining these.
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You have to be decisive. Indecisiveness is a startup killer.
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Most founders have not managed people before, and they certainly haven't managed managers.
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So you should always stay on top of people's vesting schedules.
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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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Long term thinking is so rare anywhere, but especially in startups. This is a huge advantage if you do it.
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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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The track record for founders that don't already know each other is really bad.
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In YC's case, the number one cause of early death for startups is cofounder blowups.
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