Quote

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.

Sam Altman

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
Employee
Possibly
Generous
Amount
Team
Equity
Fighting
Employees
Believe
Reduce
Investors

More quotes by Sam Altman

Image
If it takes more than a sentence to explain what you are doing, it's almost always a sign that what you are doing is too complicated.
Sam Altman
Image
I think as a rough estimate, you should aim to give about 10% of the company to the first 10 employees.
Sam Altman
Image
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
Image
Developing a personal connection with anyone you're trying to do a big deal with is really important.
Sam Altman
Image
A small communication breakdown is enough for everyone to be working on slightly different things. And then you loose focus.
Sam Altman
Image
It's easy to move fast or be obsessed with quality, but the trick is you have to do both at a startup.
Sam Altman
Image
You should think about for the next 10 years, you're going to be giving out 3-5% of the company every year.
Sam Altman
Image
We talk to a team they've gotten new things done, that's the best predictor we have that a company will be successful.
Sam Altman
Image
Most startups are not nearly focussed enough. They work hard...maybe, but they don't work hard on the right things.
Sam Altman
Image
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.
Sam Altman
Image
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.
Sam Altman
Image
If you want something in a deal, just ask for it.
Sam Altman
Image
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.
Sam Altman
Image
Move fast. Speed is one of your main advantages over large companies.
Sam Altman
Image
What being a founder means, is signing up for this years long grind on execution - and you can't outsource this.
Sam Altman
Image
These all sounded really bad, but they turned out to be good. If they had sounded really good, there would have been too many people working on them.
Sam Altman
Image
A board member of mine used to say sales fix everything in a startup, and that is really true.
Sam Altman
Image
Most of the best hires that I've made in my entire life have never done that thing before.
Sam Altman
Image
Growth and momentum are what a startup lives on and you always have to focus on maintaining these.
Sam Altman
Image
You also want to fire people who a) create office politics, and b) who are persistently negative.
Sam Altman