Sam Altman
26 notes in the collection. Writes at blog.samaltman.com (opens in a new tab)↗
First saved A founder-friendly term sheet on August 27, 2026.
Altman's 17 lessons on building things: optimism and obsession get them started, while cohesive teams, focused bets, and fast iteration get them finished.
Related
- How things get doneSam Altman
- The days are long but the decades are shortSam Altman
- The Strength of Being MisunderstoodSam Altman
- Value is created by doingSam Altman
- NewA Question 1 min
Altman pushes back on complaints about a lack of innovation by pointing out that the phones, apps, and services people use to complain mostly didn't exist ten years earlier.
Related
- Electrons and AtomsSam Altman
- Hard StartupsSam Altman
- Idea GenerationSam Altman
- Startup AdviceSam Altman
- NewBefore Growth 1 min
Altman argues startups should chase growth only after some users love the product enough to recommend it unprompted, since growth hacking a half-liked product fools investors only until they check retention.
Related
- Premature optimizationSam Altman
- Do Things that Don't ScalePaul Graham
- Hard StartupsSam Altman
- Idea GenerationSam Altman
- NewEmployee Retention 5 min
Altman argues retention becomes harder than hiring once a startup grows, and that mission, rocketship growth, and a great team keep people where perks and inflated salaries never do.
Related
- Greg BrockmanSam Altman
- Hard StartupsSam Altman
- Idea GenerationSam Altman
- Startup AdviceSam Altman
- NewGrowth and Government 9 min
Altman argues democracy breaks down without economic growth, since voters in a zero-sum system can only gain at each other's expense, and that America's dysfunction traces back to slowing real growth.
Related
- A founder-friendly term sheetSam Altman
- Fundraising Mistakes Founders MakeSam Altman
- How To Invest In StartupsSam Altman
- Upside riskSam Altman
- NewHow To Be Successful 15 min
Altman's 13 principles for outlier success, centered on compounding yourself, near-delusional self-belief, focus, hard work, owning equity instead of selling time, and being driven from within.
Related
- The days are long but the decades are shortSam Altman
- The Strength of Being MisunderstoodSam Altman
- What I Wish Someone Had Told MeSam Altman
- Advice for ambitious 19 year oldsSam Altman
- NewProductivity 9 min
Altman argues that choosing what to work on matters most for productivity, then shares his system of paper lists, ruthless no's, protected mornings, and sleep, exercise, and diet tuned by experiment.
Related
- How things get doneSam Altman
- The days are long but the decades are shortSam Altman
- The Strength of Being MisunderstoodSam Altman
- Value is created by doingSam Altman
Altman argues you should think of a startup as a project for as long as possible, since low expectations free you to pursue slightly crazy ideas, the way Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Airbnb all began.
Related
- Advice for ambitious 19 year oldsSam Altman
- how to pick the right startup to join [full guide]Christian Levan
- Hard StartupsSam Altman
- Idea GenerationSam Altman
Altman shares the term sheet he uses as an angel and explains what he left out, from option-pool shuffles and investor legal fees to exploding offers and confidentiality, to win the best founders.
Related
- Fundraising Mistakes Founders MakeSam Altman
- How To Invest In StartupsSam Altman
- Growth and GovernmentSam Altman
- Hard StartupsSam Altman
Altman argues college, a job, or a startup can each be right at 19 as long as you build things, stay around smart people, and take the right risks, like joining a breakout company over a higher salary at Microsoft.
Related
- Projects and CompaniesSam Altman
- How things get doneSam Altman
- Value is created by doingSam Altman
- What I Wish Someone Had Told MeSam Altman
- NewElectrons and Atoms 2 min
Altman notices that every breakout startup he tracks connects the online and physical worlds, like Uber and Airbnb, and argues that companies bridging the two tend to beat purely digital or purely physical ones.
Related
- A QuestionSam Altman
- Hard StartupsSam Altman
- Idea GenerationSam Altman
- Startup AdviceSam Altman
Altman lists common fundraising mistakes, from chasing high valuations and playing tricks to failing to create competition between investors, raising without a lead, and not knowing your own metrics cold.
Related
- A founder-friendly term sheetSam Altman
- How To Invest In StartupsSam Altman
- Growth and GovernmentSam Altman
- Hard StartupsSam Altman
- NewGreg Brockman 2 min
Altman holds up Greg Brockman as the ideal cofounder, the force of will who committed to OpenAI on a car ride home, recruited the founding team, took every non-technical job, and kept everyone pressing on.
Related
- Employee RetentionSam Altman
- Hard StartupsSam Altman
- Idea GenerationSam Altman
- Startup AdviceSam Altman
- NewHard Startups 2 min
Altman argues hard, meaningful startups are often easier to make succeed than easy ones, because an important mission attracts the talent, advice, and funding that a thousand photo-sharing apps compete for.
Related
- Idea GenerationSam Altman
- Startup AdviceSam Altman
- Startup advice, brieflySam Altman
- Super successful companiesSam Altman
- NewHow things get done 3 min
Altman endorses Charlie Rose's theory that things get done through focus and personal connections, so founders should drop everything beyond two or three priorities and invest in relationships with smart people.
Related
- Value is created by doingSam Altman
- What I Wish Someone Had Told MeSam Altman
- Advice for ambitious 19 year oldsSam Altman
- Don’t Edit Your ImaginationBrian Chesky
Altman argues startup investing comes down to access, judgment, and getting founders to pick you, which means outworking other investors, backing fast-improving founders in possible $10B markets, and acting decisively.
Related
- A founder-friendly term sheetSam Altman
- Fundraising Mistakes Founders MakeSam Altman
- Growth and GovernmentSam Altman
- Hard StartupsSam Altman
- NewIdea Generation 3 min
Altman argues good startup ideas come from being around optimistic, unfiltered people, projecting 20 years ahead, and spotting what became possible this year, and that a good idea sounds bad for reasons you can explain.
Related
- Hard StartupsSam Altman
- Startup AdviceSam Altman
- Startup advice, brieflySam Altman
- Super successful companiesSam Altman
Altman argues that A/B tests and funnel tweaks only matter once users love the product, so early startups should chase a step change in the product itself rather than incremental 10% gains.
Related
- Before GrowthSam Altman
- Growth and GovernmentSam Altman
- Vanity milestonesChris Dixon
- Why vanity metrics are dangerousEric Ries
- NewStartup Advice 6 min
Altman's 95 pieces of startup advice for a new YC batch, from make something people want and hire slow, fire fast to keeping burn low, moving fast, and staying optimistic when everything melts down.
Related
- Hard StartupsSam Altman
- Idea GenerationSam Altman
- Startup advice, brieflySam Altman
- Super successful companiesSam Altman
Altman's compressed guide to building a startup: start with a project, make something a few users love, keep burn low, hire well and fire fast, obsess over growth, and keep working hard for ten years.
Related
- Hard StartupsSam Altman
- Idea GenerationSam Altman
- Startup AdviceSam Altman
- Super successful companiesSam Altman
Altman lists what hugely successful startups do when young, from obsessing over product quality and talent to making something a few users love, keeping costs low, and moving fast on everything.
Related
- Hard StartupsSam Altman
- Idea GenerationSam Altman
- Startup AdviceSam Altman
- Startup advice, brieflySam Altman
Altman collects confident expert predictions that turned out wrong, from Wilbur Wright doubting flight and Einstein dismissing nuclear energy to 2015 skeptics calling superhuman AI ridiculous.
Related
- The typical path of how people respond to life-changing inventionsChris Dixon
- Compounding OptimismMorgan Housel
- When You Change the World and No One NoticesMorgan Housel
- Exponential curves feel gradual and then suddenChris Dixon
Altman's 36 lessons from his twenties, from keeping close friends and a low burn rate to picking the right work, asking for what you want, and doing something new and risky every year.
Related
- The Strength of Being MisunderstoodSam Altman
- What I Wish Someone Had Told MeSam Altman
- How To Be SuccessfulSam Altman
- fun is the only metric that doesn’t liesignull
Altman argues the goal is to care about others' opinions on a long time horizon rather than stop caring, trading short-term low status for long-term high status by being right about a non-consensus bet.
Related
- The days are long but the decades are shortSam Altman
- What I Wish Someone Had Told MeSam Altman
- How To Be SuccessfulSam Altman
- fun is the only metric that doesn’t liesignull
- NewUpside risk 2 min
Altman argues that because one angel investment often returns more than all the rest combined, the real risk is missing the outlier, so investors should stop demanding protective terms that drive off the best founders.
Related
- Growth and GovernmentSam Altman
- The Seduction of PessimismMorgan Housel
- A Number From Today and A Story About TomorrowMorgan Housel
- Conflicting Skill SetsMorgan Housel
Altman argues that tweeting, networking, and talking about the future only feel like work, since value comes from execution, so measure what you got done each day and work on what you actually care about.
Related
- How things get doneSam Altman
- What I Wish Someone Had Told MeSam Altman
- Advice for ambitious 19 year oldsSam Altman
- Don’t Edit Your ImaginationBrian Chesky
If you like Sam Altman, try
- Paul Graham10 notes · also on startups and money
- Alexandr Wang4 notes · also on startups and agency
- Brian Chesky4 notes · also on startups and agency