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If it works out, you're going to be working on this for 10 years.

Sam Altman

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Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
Works
Working
Going
Years

More quotes by Sam Altman

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You don't get to make their decisions but you do get to choose the decision makers.
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You have to save the vision speeches for when the company is winning. When you're not winning, you just have to get momentum back.
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The track record for founders that don't already know each other is really bad.
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No growth hack, brilliant marketing idea, or sales team can save you long term if you don't have a sufficiently good product.
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To get the very best people- they have a lot of great options, and so it can easily take a year to recruit someone.
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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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Great execution towards a terrible idea will get you nowhere.
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AirBnB spent 5 months interviewing their first employee, before they hired someone and in their first year, they only hired 2 people.
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In general though, if you look at the track record of pivots, they don't become big companies.
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Employees will only add more value over time.
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Or a way to stay on strangers couches, that just sounds terrible all around.
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In general, it's best if you're building something that you yourself need.
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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 often disrupts momentum and really shouldn't is competitors.
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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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You also want to fire people who a) create office politics, and b) who are persistently negative.
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You think you have this great idea that everyone's going to come join, but that's not how it works.
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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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The thing that kills startups at some level, is the founders giving up.
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... if you talk to say any of the first 40 or 50 employees, they all feel like they were a part of the founding of the company.
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