If someone is choosing between joining McKinsey or your startup it's very unlikely they're going to work out at the startup. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
Companies that I've been very involved with, that have had a very bad first hire in the first 3 or so employees… — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
... fire fast when it's not working. It's better for the company, it's also better for the employee. — Sam Altman Copy Share 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 Copy Share Image
There are 3 things I look for when I hire people. Are they smart? Do they get things done? Do I want… — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
AirBnB spent 5 months interviewing their first employee, before they hired someone and in their first year, they only hired 2 people. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
To get the very best people- they have a lot of great options, and so it can easily take a year to… — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
I think the best thing you can do is be aware that as a first time founder you are likely to be… — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
You also want people who are maniacally determined and that is slightly different than having a risk tolerant attitude. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
Most great companies in tech have been built by personal referrals for the first...at least 100 employees and often many more. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
... for the top twenty most valuable YC companies, all of them have at least two founders. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
No growth hack, brilliant marketing idea, or sales team can save you long term if you don't have a sufficiently good product. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
You need someone that behaves like James Bond more than you need someone that is an expert in some particular domain. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
By the way, that's my number one piece of advice if you're going to join a startup: pick a rocket ship. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
It's better to have no cofounder than to have a bad cofounder, but it's still bad to be a solo founder. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
Most of the best hires that I've made in my entire life have never done that thing before. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
Founders are usually very stingy with equity to employees and very generous with equity to investors. I think this is totally backwards. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
Every first time founder waits too long, everyone hopes that an employee will turn around. But the right answer is to fire… — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
The best source by far for hiring is people that you already know and people that other employees in the company already… — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
... you want to be proud of how much you can get done with a small numbers of employees. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
I think as a rough estimate, you should aim to give about 10% of the company to the first 10 employees. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
Investors will sort of like write the check and then, despite a lot of promises, don't usually do that much; sometimes they… — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
We pretty much won't fund a company now where the founders don't have vested equity because it's just that hard to do. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
A winning team feels good and keeps winning. A team that hasn't won in a while gets demotivated and keeps losing. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
Really dig into projects people have worked on and call references; that is another thing that first time founders like to skip. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
For most of the early hires you make in a startup, experience doesn't matter very much, and you should go for aptitude. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
You have to let your team get all the credit for all the good stuff that happens, and you take responsibility for… — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
One thing I tell startups all the time is that the best way to grow is to make their product better. — Sam Altman Copy Share
A winning team feels good and keeps winning. A team that hasn't won in a while gets demotivated and keeps losing. — Sam Altman Copy Share
You're either not hiring at all or it's probably your single biggest block of time. — Sam Altman Copy Share
Execution gets divided into two key questions: 1) can you figure out what to do and 2) can you get it done. — Sam Altman Copy Share
I prefer to invest in a company that's going after a small but rapidly growing market than a big but slow growing one. — Sam Altman Copy Share
Startups are not the best choice for work-life balance, and that's sort of just the sad reality. — Sam Altman Copy Share
One of the biggest advantages that start ups have is execution speed and you have to have this relentless operating rhythm. — Sam Altman Copy Share
One of the keys to focus, and why I said cofounders that aren't friends really struggle, is that you can't be focused without good… — Sam Altman Copy Share
Startups are very hard no matter what you do; you may as well go after a big opportunity. — Sam Altman Copy Share
