Aim to be the best in the world at whatever you do professionally. Even if you miss, you'll probably end up in a pretty good place. Sam Altman More Quotes by Sam Altman More Quotes From Sam Altman Every thing at a startup gets modeled after the founders. Whatever the founders do becomes the culture. Sam Altman founders culture The way to have a company that executes well is you have to execute well yourself. Sam Altman company wells way You only get points when you make something the market wants. So if you work really hard on the wrong things, no one will care. Sam Altman wrong-things care want Be suspicious of any work that is not building product or getting customers. Sam Altman suspicious building customers You can win with the best product, the best price, or the best experience. Sam Altman you-can-win best-experiences winning Most things are not as risky as they seem. Sam Altman seems Study the unusually successful people you know, and you will find them imbued with enthusiasm for their work which is contagious. Not only are they themselves excited about what they are doing, but they also get you excited Sam Altman successful enthusiasm people The best ideas often look terrible at the beginning the truly good ideas, don't seem like they're worth stealing. Sam Altman stealing looks ideas You need someone that behaves like James Bond more than you need someone that is an expert in some particular domain. Sam Altman team experts needs Growth and momentum are what a startup lives on and you always have to focus on maintaining these. Sam Altman momentum growth focus The cost of getting an early hire wrong is really high. Sam Altman cost team A lot of people treat choosing their cofounder with even less importance than they put on hiring. Don't do this. Sam Altman treats team people In YC's case, the number one cause of early death for startups is cofounder blowups. Sam Altman causes team numbers Cofounder relationships are among the most important in the entire company. Sam Altman company team important Press releases are easier to write than code, and that is still easier than making a great product. Sam Altman release easier writing One thing that often disrupts momentum and really shouldn't is competitors. Sam Altman competitors one-thing momentum You have to save the vision speeches for when the company is winning. When you're not winning, you just have to get momentum back. Sam Altman momentum vision winning So always keep momentum, it's this prime directive for managing a startup. Sam Altman prime momentum A winning team feels good and keeps winning. A team that hasn't won in a while gets demotivated and keeps losing. Sam Altman feel-good team winning Momentum and growth are the lifeblood of startups. This is probably in the top three secrets of executing well. Sam Altman growth three secret
