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
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 Copy Share Image
In general don't start a startup you're not willing to work on for ten years. — Sam Altman 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 Copy Share Image
What being a founder means, is signing up for this years long grind on execution - and you can't outsource this. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
You should think about for the next 10 years, you're going to be giving out 3-5% of the company every year. — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
It's really easy to get PR with no results & it actually feels like you're really actually cool, but in a year… — Sam Altman Copy Share Image
It's become popular in recent years to say that the idea doesn't matter. — 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
Why couldn't it have been done 2 years ago, and why will 2 years in the future be too late? — 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
You never want to be in a place where an employee has vested 3 out of the 4 years of stock and… — 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
