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You need this sort of a tailwind to make a startup successful.

Sam Altman

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Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
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More quotes by Sam Altman

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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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Growth solves (nearly) all problems
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One thing that often disrupts momentum and really shouldn't is competitors.
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Why now, why is this the perfect time for this particular idea, and to start this particular company?
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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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Most startups are not nearly focussed enough. They work hard...maybe, but they don't work hard on the right things.
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You can have a startup and one other thing, you can have a family, but you probably can't have many other things.
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You're saying no ninety-seven times out of a hundred, and most founders find they have to make a very conscious effort to do this.
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If you compromise in the first five, ten hires it might kill the company.
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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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It's easy to move fast or be obsessed with quality, but the trick is you have to do both at a startup.
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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
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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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Developing a personal connection with anyone you're trying to do a big deal with is really important.
Sam Altman
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Companies that I've been very involved with, that have had a very bad first hire in the first 3 or so employees never recover from it.
Sam Altman
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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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One of the great and terrible things about starting a start up is that you get no credit for trying.
Sam Altman
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Be suspicious of any work that is not building product or getting customers. It's easy to get sucked into an infrastructure rewrite death spiral.
Sam Altman
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So always keep momentum, it's this prime directive for managing a startup.
Sam Altman
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Cofounder relationships are among the most important in the entire company.
Sam Altman