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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.

Sam Altman

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Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
Happy
World
Idea
Stills
Still
Pivot
Today
Whack
Pendulums
Ideas
Pendulum
Feels
Swung
Way

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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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So always keep momentum, it's this prime directive for managing a startup.
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Obsess about the quality of the product.
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At the beginning, you should only hire when you have a desperate need to.
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Cofounder relationships are among the most important in the entire company.
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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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Firing people is one of the worst parts of running a company. Actually in my own experience, I think it is the worst.
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Most of the best hires that I've made in my entire life have never done that thing before.
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Another way of looking at this, is that the best companies are almost always mission oriented.
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Ideas by themselves are not worth anything, only executing well is what creates value.
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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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In the beginning of a company, there is no management and this actually works really well.
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In YC's case, the number one cause of early death for startups is cofounder blowups.
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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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