So always keep momentum, it's this prime directive for managing a startup. Sam Altman More Quotes by Sam Altman More Quotes From Sam Altman You really want a company full of missionaries, not mercenaries. Sam Altman fullyoucompanywant Don't let yourself make excuses for not doing the things you want to do. Sam Altman yourselfdoingyouwant One of the things we urge Y-Combinator companies to do is to have profitability in grasp. If you need to get profitable before your A round of money, you ought to be able to do that. Sam Altman yourneedyoumoney The only way to generate sustained exponential growth is to make whatever you're making sufficiently good. Sam Altman goodyougrowthway I believe whatever smart, ambitious people are working on will be the trend of the future. I do think that it's worth thinking critically about what the future will be. Sam Altman futurebelievepeoplethinking Sometimes people think Y Combinator has big ideas about themes. But really, we just fund the best startups. Sam Altman bestsometimespeopleideas If you go to a paintball subreddit, paintball companies can advertise to you. Sam Altman advertisecompaniesgoyou The correlation of quality of life and cost of energy is huge. Sam Altman quality-of-lifequalityenergylife People always make the mistake of calling an idea small or stupid because they don't understand how it's going to evolve. Sam Altman understandstupidmistakepeople All the reasons that have made software so successful are beginning to happen with hardware. So much can be done so quickly, prototyped so rapidly, and the costs are so low. Sam Altman happenbeginningsoftwaredone I get up late, have an espresso, and immediately start work. I try to get roughly caught up on email before I leave the house, then if I need to write anything or review a complex deal, I do that, and then I head to the office and work on my top few priorities for the day. I try to schedule my meetings in the afternoon. Sam Altman daystartprioritieswork I think the mistake people make most often when they invest in other kinds of startups is they say, 'This is totally different.' And so the things that matter, like making a product that people desperately want, like talking to customers, they throw this out the window. That is a recipe for heartache and tears. Sam Altman tearsmistakepeoplewindow Seed investing is the status symbol of Silicon Valley. Most people don't want Ferraris, they want a winning seed investment. Sam Altman seedwinningwantpeople All throughout my life I have been deeply immersed in startups, either because I was running one or investing in them or helping them. Sam Altman eithermy-lifebecauselife It's easy to say, 'I'm going to build something that already exists,' but it's difficult to clearly and succinctly describe something new. Sam Altman saynewdifficulteasy I don't invest in companies where my mental model is that they need to get themselves acquired in the next few years - or ever. Sam Altman mentalneednextyears If you look at people who have an iPhone or Android and are under 40 and are dissatisfied with their bank, it's actually quite a large market. Sam Altman iphonelookyoupeople A lot of people don't love their bank. Sam Altman banklotlovepeople 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 teamfightingbelieve
