In general though, if you look at the track record of pivots, they don't become big companies. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
You want to think about what is the path for my first 10 or 15 employees going to be as the company grows. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
As the company grows and about this 25 or so employee size, your main job shifts from building a great product to… — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
Before 20 or 25 employees, most companies are structured with everyone reporting to the founder. It's totally flat. — 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
In the beginning of a company, there is no management and this actually works really well. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
Founders need to figure out what the message of the company is going to be. — 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
