Unfortunately the trick to great execution is to say no a lot. — Sam Altman Diplomat Copy Share Image
You really want to know your cofounders for a while, ideally years. — Sam Altman Knows 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 Business Copy Share Image
You need to figure out what the 2 or 3 most important things are, and then just do those. — Sam Altman Figures Copy Share Image
You also want to fire people who a) create office politics, and b) who are persistently negative. — Sam Altman Fire Copy Share Image
As you grow, the productivity I think, goes down with the square of the number of employees if you don't make an… — Sam Altman Effort Copy Share Image
Firing people is one of the worst parts of running a company. Actually in my own experience, I think it is the… — Sam Altman Business Copy Share Image
A lot of people treat choosing their cofounder with even less importance than they put on hiring. Don't do this. — Sam Altman Customer Copy Share Image
Why now, why is this the perfect time for this particular idea, and to start this particular company? — Sam Altman Business Copy Share Image
... but the pendulum has swung way out of whack here. A bad idea is still bad, and the pivot happy world… — Sam Altman Bad idea Copy Share Image
You want an idea about what you can say. I know it sounds like a bad idea but here's specifically why its… — Sam Altman Asks Copy Share Image
You can create value with breakthrough innovation, incremental refinement, or complex coordination. Great companies often do two of these. The very best… — Sam Altman Best company Copy Share Image
I really believe that the single hardest thing in business is building a company that does repeatable innovation... and just has this… — Sam Altman Believe Copy Share Image
One of the keys to focus, and why I said cofounders that aren't friends really struggle, is that you can't be focused… — Sam Altman Communication Copy Share Image
We've seen a lot of data at YC now, and the most successful companies and the ones where the investors do the… — Sam Altman Company Copy Share Image
It's difficult to get large groups of people, to the extreme levels of focus and productivity that you need, for a startup… — Sam Altman Being successful Copy Share Image
You also really want to take the time to think about how the market is going to evolve.You need a market that's… — Sam Altman Bigs Copy Share Image
Be suspicious of any work that is not building product or getting customers. It's easy to get sucked into an infrastructure rewrite… — Sam Altman Building Copy Share Image
At YC we have this public phrase, and it's relentlessly resourceful. — Sam Altman Phrases Copy Share Image
No matter what you choose, build stuff and be around smart people. — Sam Altman Matter Copy Share Image
The startups that do well are the ones that are working all the time. — Sam Altman Entrepreneurship Copy Share Image
You need this sort of a tailwind to make a startup successful. — Sam Altman Customer Copy Share Image
I care much more about the growth rate of the market than it's current size and I also care if there's any… — Sam Altman Care Copy Share Image
