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For most of the early hires you make in a startup, experience doesn't matter very much, and you should go for aptitude.

Sam Altman

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Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
Make
Hires
Aptitude
Early
Team
Experience
Doesn
Matter
Much

More quotes by Sam Altman

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At the beginning, you should only hire when you have a desperate need to.
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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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As the company grows and about this 25 or so employee size, your main job shifts from building a great product to building a great company.
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Unfortunately the trick to great execution is to say no a lot.
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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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It really is true that you become an average of the people you spend the most time with.
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One thing that founders forget is that after they hire employees, they have to retain them.
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In YC's case, the number one cause of early death for startups is cofounder blowups.
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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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Developing a personal connection with anyone you're trying to do a big deal with is really important.
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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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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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The second part of how to hire: try not to.
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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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Be suspicious of any work that is not building product or getting customers.
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A single mediocre hire in the first five will often in fact kill a startup.
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The startups that do well are the ones that are working all the time.
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The best people know that they should join a rocketship.
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So you should always stay on top of people's vesting schedules.
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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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