I believe in fighting with investors to reduce the amount of equity they get and then being as generous as you possibly can with employees. Sam Altman More Quotes by Sam Altman More Quotes From Sam Altman One of the biggest advantages that start ups have is execution speed and you have to have this relentless operating rhythm. Sam Altman execution relentless speed 1 of the hardest parts about being a founder, is that there are a 100 important things competing for your attention each day. Sam Altman each-day important attention One thing I tell startups all the time is that the best way to grow is to make their product better. Sam Altman grows products way Starting a business is like riding a wave between life and death. If you can hang on long enough, you're bound to succeed Sam Altman riding life-and-death long The tenth social network, and limited only to college students with no money, also terrible. Myspace had won. Sam Altman social-network students college The natural state of a start-up is to die; most start-ups require multiple miracles in their early days to escape this fate. Sam Altman fate miracle natural The startups that do well are the ones that are working all the time. Sam Altman working-all-the-time wells Companies that I've been very involved with, that have had a very bad first hire in the first 3 or so employees never recover from it. Sam Altman employee team firsts Most of the best hires that I've made in my entire life have never done that thing before. Sam Altman team done made There are 3 things I look for when I hire people. Are they smart? Do they get things done? Do I want to spend a lot of time around them? Sam Altman smart team people One of the pieces of advice that we give at YC is: try to work together on a project rather than just doing an interview. Sam Altman team advice giving The way you get deals done and the way you get good terms, is to have a competitive situation. Sam Altman situation done way Really dig into projects people have worked on and call references; that is another thing that first time founders like to skip. Sam Altman team people firsts Developing a personal connection with anyone you're trying to do a big deal with is really important. Sam Altman connections important trying The second part of how to hire: try not to. Sam Altman team trying For early employees you want people that have somewhat of a risk-taking attitude. Sam Altman team attitude people The biggest PR hack you can do, is not hire a PR firm. Sam Altman firm hacks can-do If someone is choosing between joining McKinsey or your startup it's very unlikely they're going to work out at the startup. Sam Altman joining work-out team You also want people who are maniacally determined and that is slightly different than having a risk tolerant attitude. Sam Altman team attitude people You should be able to describe any employee as an animal at what they do. Sam Altman able team animal
