You have to be decisive. Indecisiveness is a startup killer. Sam Altman More Quotes by Sam Altman More Quotes From Sam Altman People that are really smart and that can learn new things can almost always find a role in the company as time goes on. Sam Altman smartteampeople We pretty much won't fund a company now where the founders don't have vested equity because it's just that hard to do. Sam Altman equityfoundersteam It's become popular in recent years to say that the idea doesn't matter. Sam Altman matteryearsideas ... but the pendulum has swung way out of whack here. A bad idea is still bad, and the pivot happy world we're in today feels suboptimal. Sam Altman todayworldideas Great execution towards a terrible idea will get you nowhere. Sam Altman executionterribleideas There are exceptions of course, but most companies start with a great idea - not a pivot. Sam Altman great-ideacompanyideas If you look at successful pivots, they almost always are a pivot into something that the founder wanted. Not a random made up idea. Sam Altman successfullooksideas AirBnB happened because Brian Chesky couldn't pay his rent, but did have some space. Sam Altman brianspacepay It's difficult to get large groups of people, to the extreme levels of focus and productivity that you need, for a startup to be successful. Sam Altman focussuccessfulpeople A related advantage of mission oriented ideas, is that you yourself will be dedicated to them. Sam Altman missionsadvantageideas You need conviction in your own beliefs, and the willingness to ignore others naysaying. Sam Altman convictionbeliefneeds The hard part is that this is a very fine line. There's right on one side of it, and crazy on the other. Sam Altman linescrazysides You want an idea that not many other people are working on, and it's okay if it doesn't sound big at first. Sam Altman soundpeopleideas Unpopular but right is what you're going for. Sam Altman You also really want to take the time to think about how the market is going to evolve.You need a market that's going to be big in 10 years. Sam Altman yearsneedsthinking Most investors are obsessed with the market size today and they don't think about how the market is going to evolve. Sam Altman sizetodaythinking I care much more about the growth rate of the market than it's current size and I also care if there's any reason it's going to top out. Sam Altman sizegrowthcare So it's worth some real up front time to think through the long term value and the defensibility of the business. Sam Altman reallongthinking You cannot create a market that doesn't want to exist. Sam Altman want You have to find a small market in which you can get a monopoly and then quickly expand. Sam Altman monopoly
