Every first time founder waits too long, everyone hopes that an employee will turn around. But the right answer is to fire fast.

Sam Altman

Categorized in : Long Fire Team

Remember that you are more likely to die because you execute badl... by Sam Altman

Remember that you are more likely to die because you execute badly than get crushed by a competitor.

competitors crushed remember

Whatever the founder cares about, whatever the founders think are the key goals, that's going to be what the whole company focusses on.

keys goal thinking

One of the great and terrible things about starting a start up is... by Sam Altman

One of the great and terrible things about starting a start up is that you get no credit for trying.

starting credit trying

Move fast. Speed is one of your main advantages over large compan... by Sam Altman

Move fast. Speed is one of your main advantages over large companies.

advantage speed moving

Share results (financial and key metrics) with the company every... by Sam Altman

Share results (financial and key metrics) with the company every month.

metrics months keys

Stay focused and don't try to do too many things at once. Care ab... by Sam Altman

Stay focused and don't try to do too many things at once. Care about execution quality.

quality care trying

Growth solves (nearly) all problems by Sam Altman

Growth solves (nearly) all problems

solve growth problem

You can't be focussed without really great communication by Sam Altman

You can't be focussed without really great communication

great-communication really-great communication

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 communication.

communication struggle said

As long as you keep doing the right thing and have the best product, you can beat the bigger company.

beats bigger long

Great execution is at least 10 times more important and a 100 tim... by Sam Altman

Great execution is at least 10 times more important and a 100 times harder than a good idea.

execution important ideas

Most good founders that I know at any given time have a set of small overarching goals for the company that everybody in the company knows.

founders given goal

You're saying no ninety-seven times out of a hundred, and most founders find they have to make a very conscious effort to do this.

saying-no seven effort

Most startups are not nearly focussed enough. They work hard...maybe, but they don't work hard on the right things.

hard hard-work enough

You need to figure out what the 2 or 3 most important things are,... by Sam Altman

You need to figure out what the 2 or 3 most important things are, and then just do those.

figures important needs

Ideas by themselves are not worth anything, only executing well i... by Sam Altman

Ideas by themselves are not worth anything, only executing well is what creates value.

executing wells ideas

There's at least a hundred times more people with great ideas than people that are willing to put in the effort to execute them well.

effort people ideas

The company just needs to see you as like this maniacal execution... by Sam Altman

The company just needs to see you as like this maniacal execution machine.

execution machines needs

So if you want a culture where people work hard, & pay attention to detail, focus on the customer, are frugal: you have to do it yourself.

focus hard-work people

Every thing at a startup gets modeled after the founders. Whatever the founders do becomes the culture.

founders culture