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If you compromise in the first five, ten hires it might kill 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
Might
Firsts
Hires
First
Compromise
Ten
Kill
Team
Company
Five

More quotes by Sam Altman

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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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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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Be suspicious of any work that is not building product or getting customers.
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Startups are very hard no matter what you do you may as well go after a big opportunity.
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Losing focus is another way that founders get off track.
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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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Before product/market fit, your only job that matters is to build a great product.
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Because so few people make an actual long term commitment to what they're building, the ones that do have a huge advantage.
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We talk to a team they've gotten new things done, that's the best predictor we have that a company will be successful.
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In general, it's best if you're building something that you yourself need.
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If you have several ideas that all seem pretty good, work on the one that you think about, when you're not trying to think about work.
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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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... for the top twenty most valuable YC companies, all of them have at least two founders.
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If someone is getting every decision wrong, that's when you need to act, and at that point it'll be painfully aware to everyone.
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One thing that founders forget is that after they hire employees, they have to retain them.
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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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I believe in fighting with investors to reduce the amount of equity they get and then being as generous as you possibly can with employees.
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Cofounder relationships are among the most important in the entire company.
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When lack of structure fails, it fails all at once. What works totally fine from 0-20 employees, is disastrous at 30.
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One thing that founders always underestimate is how hard it is to recruit.
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