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Team Quotes by Sam Altman

67 Team quotes by Sam Altman

All Team quotes Sam Altman’s page

A rocketship waiting for the right crew illustrates the hunt for great teammates. Sam Altman’s team insights stress that knowing co‑founders deeply, hiring as a major time investment, and avoiding bad solo or co‑founder choices shape a winning culture. The advice highlights that a strong, collaborative team keeps winning.

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... We probably funded a rate of something like one out of ten solo teams.

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Cofounder relationships are among the most important in the entire company.

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At YC we have this public phrase, and it's relentlessly resourceful.

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The best people know that they should join a rocketship.

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For early employees you want people that have somewhat of a risk-taking attitude.

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In YC's case, the number one cause of early death for startups is cofounder blowups.

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One thing that founders always underestimate is how hard it is to recruit.

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You really want to know your cofounders for a while, ideally years.

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Companies that I've been very involved with, that have had a very bad first hire in the first 3 or so employees…

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... fire fast when it's not working. It's better for the company, it's also better for the employee.

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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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Later, you should learn to hire fast and scale up the company, but in the early days the goal should be not…

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If someone is difficult to talk to, if someone cannot communicate clearly, it's a real problem in terms of their likelihood to…

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You think you have this great idea that everyone's going to come join, but that's not how it works.

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One thing that founders forget is that after they hire employees, they have to retain them.

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If someone is choosing between joining McKinsey or your startup it's very unlikely they're going to work out at the startup.

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The track record for founders that don't already know each other is really bad.

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A single mediocre hire in the first five will often in fact kill a startup.

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You're either not hiring at all or it's probably your single biggest block of time.

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If you compromise in the first five, ten hires it might kill the company.

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In addition to relentlessly resourceful, you want a tough and a calm cofounder.

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You should be able to describe any employee as an animal at what they do.

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Employees will only add more value over time.

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If you compromise and hire someone mediocre you will always regret it.

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In YC experience, 2 or 3 co-founders seems to be about perfect.

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The cost of getting an early hire wrong is really high.

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At the beginning, you should only hire when you have a desperate need to.

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You need unstoppable people. You want people that are just going to get it done.

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You don't get to make their decisions but you do get to choose the decision makers.

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... how much time you should be spending on hiring? The answer is 0 or 25 percent.

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The second part of how to hire: try not to.

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Experience matters for some roles and not others.

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One of the pieces of advice that we give at YC is: try to work together on a project rather than just…

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... you can think about that for everyone you hire: will I bet the future of this company on this single hire?…

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... but actually it sucks to have a lot of employees, and you should be proud of how few employees you have.

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If someone is getting every decision wrong, that's when you need to act, and at that point it'll be painfully aware to…

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I believe in fighting with investors to reduce the amount of equity they get and then being as generous as you possibly…

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If you're not in college and you don't know a cofounder, the next best thing I think is to go work at…

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Many of the best YC companies have had phenomenally small number of employees for their first year, sometimes none besides the founders.

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Firing people is one of the worst parts of running a company. Actually in my own experience, I think it is the…

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More by Sam Altman

The best people know that they should join a rocketship.

You really want to know your cofounders for a while, ideally years.

Employees will only add more value over time.

One thing I tell startups all the time is that the best way to grow is to make their product better.

A winning team feels good and keeps winning. A team that hasn't won in a while gets demotivated and keeps losing.

You're either not hiring at all or it's probably your single biggest block of time.

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

Execution gets divided into two key questions: 1) can you figure out what to do and 2) can you get it done.

If you want something in a deal, just ask for it.

Most things are not as risky as they seem.

I prefer to invest in a company that's going after a small but rapidly growing market than a big but slow growing one.

Startups are not the best choice for work-life balance, and that's sort of just the sad reality.

One of the biggest advantages that start ups have is execution speed and you have to have this relentless operating rhythm.

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…

Startups are very hard no matter what you do; you may as well go after a big opportunity.