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
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
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
... the thing we see wrong with YC apps most frequently, is that people have not thought about the market first and… — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
Everyone starting a startup for the first time is scared, and everyone feels like a bit of an imposter. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
... if you talk to say any of the first 40 or 50 employees, they all feel like they were a part… — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
If you can just learn to think about the market first, you will have a big leg up on most people starting… — 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 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
A single mediocre hire in the first five will often in fact kill a startup. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
If you compromise in the first five, ten hires it might kill the company. — 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
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
You want an idea that not many other people are working on, and it's okay if it doesn't sound big at first. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
Many of the best YC companies have had phenomenally small number of employees for their first year, sometimes none besides the founders. — 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
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 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
You're either not hiring at all or it's probably your single biggest block of time. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
The thing that kills startups at some level, is the founders giving up. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
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 Image
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 Image
Startups are not the best choice for work-life balance, and that's sort of just the sad reality. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
