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The thing that kills startups at some level, is the founders giving up.

Sam Altman

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Sam Altman
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: April 22
Entrepreneur
Chicago
Illinois
Samuel H. Altman
Samuel Altman
Thing
Kills
Founders
Level
Levels
Giving

More quotes by Sam Altman

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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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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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Every company has a rocky beginning.
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1 of the hardest parts about being a founder, is that there are a 100 important things competing for your attention each day.
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I really believe that the single hardest thing in business is building a company that does repeatable innovation... and just has this ongoing culture of excellence as it grows.
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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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Most things are not as risky as they seem.
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Unpopular but right is what you're going for.
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... and you can only have 2 or 3 things everyday, because everything else will just come at you you know fires in a day.
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If you don't need it yourself, and you're building something that someone else needs, realize you're at a big disadvantage.
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The role of the board is advice and consent. If the CEO does not lay out a clear strategy and tries to get the board to set one, it will usually end in disaster.
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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 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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A single mediocre hire in the first five will often in fact kill a startup.
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As you grow, it feels hopelessly corporate but it really is worth putting in place these compensation bands.
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Because so few people make an actual long term commitment to what they're building, the ones that do have a huge advantage.
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So always keep momentum, it's this prime directive for managing a startup.
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You cannot create a market that doesn't want to exist.
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You can create value with breakthrough innovation, incremental refinement, or complex coordination. Great companies often do two of these. The very best companies do all three.
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... how much time you should be spending on hiring? The answer is 0 or 25 percent.
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