Quotes from Sam Altman

Facebook and Instagram are spiritual brothers.

Traditional local advertising is not what retailers want. They want not just for you to see an ad - they want you to come into the store, to be a repeat customer and to spread the word.

It's better to have a few users love your product than for a lot of users to sort of like it.

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.

I believe in the future, and to be a good investor, you have to believe in the future.

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.

If you have the opportunity to go be an early employee at a company that's just going crazy, and you believe it's the next Facebook or Google, you should go join that company.

The whole concept of rewarding customers is a big trend.

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.

If you don't love and believe in what you're building, you're likely to give up at some point along the way.

What you want to do is innovate on your product and your business model, management structure is not where I would try and innovate.

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.

That culture of frugality and discipline is really important for the Y Combinator mindset.

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?

In addition to relentlessly resourceful, you want a tough and a calm cofounder.

... the thing we see wrong with YC apps most frequently, is that people have not thought about the market first and what people want first.

In the early stage of a startup, hiring senior people is usually a mistake. You just want people that get stuff done.

You need unstoppable people. You want people that are just going to get it done.

If you want something in a deal, just ask for it.

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.

I think that inexpensive sources of planet-friendly energy are one of the most important things for us to pursue.

Set a clear, easy-to-understand vision for your company, and make it be a mission people believe in.

You really want a company full of missionaries, not mercenaries.

People always make the mistake of calling an idea small or stupid because they don't understand how it's going to evolve.