Blitzscaling 02: Sam Altman on Y Combinator and What Makes The Best Founders

This is session 2 of Technology-enabled Blitzscaling, a Stanford University class taught by Reid Hoffman, John Lilly, Allen Blue, and Chris Yeh. This class features John Lilly interviewing Y Combinator President Sam Altman.

[@Bl1nkzzz]

Pretty amazing that I get to virtually join this class all the way from The Netherlands, thanks guys.

[@freilezjawa8328]

Joshua Schoenaker en ben je al wat begonnen Joshua?

[@thehari75]

How does this help and what did you implement in your life that you learned here?

[@GabrielKruse]

I have to thank you for posting this class, It is amazing to get this up-to date info right from the people at the forefront. It feels like I am right in the circle of awesome people impacting the SV ecosystem. Thanks again Greylock!

[@boringmanager9559]

Isn't it amazing how 8 years later he is behind the company that found the algorithm behind some sort of creativity and it already goes the other way.

[@indiamorningpost117]

Thank you for posting these videos for free. We are grateful to you. From the hinterland of Bihar, India.

[@ErionElPintor]

Great video series, so enlighting about the history and what it takes to build a great company. Thanks

[@eddieschodowski]

I like this. Helps give shape to the on-point advice Sam gives by having back and forth happen after CS183B.

[@spiritedaway99]

I can't believe im watching this for free!! thank you Greylock for uploading this amazing lecture, the lessons and the humour in this class 🤩😍!!

[@JS-tg4zp]

So much value in this interview, thanks!

[@MaiFast]

Superb lecture, amazing questions from host. Love it!

[@GyusupSim]

Thank you Sam from Seoul, South Korea.

[@RazWorld..]

Great lecture, powerful practical advice & examples. Even a few years back, this guy had a well, broader perspective and understanding of running a powerful startup business idea. Boom a few years later- he’s actually a living proof of all these words. Super amazing!!!

[@community1854]

Best thing about YC is the network effect - very important for a nascent stage startup. Love these guys! YC in my view is the most inclusive and sharing place I know. When you see how these partners try to help founders, you know that it is pure passion and not just money - money comes as a by product. Thanks for a great interview!

[@jacobk8370]

This was fantastic!

[@vesperflight6116]

This class is too good. I am so jealous of the students there.....

[@yadaname]

Add maximum value to the world! Yes!!

[@j121212100]

right on point with the uber press a button analogy.

[@SamA-zf9sp]

Thanks from the Middle East!

[@useedORGANIC]

back then and now still on it with creativity

[@MostCommentsAreFake-ud8by]

1:12:20 that microphone is brilliant. He touches it and it does not make a noise.

[@r34ct4]

Hello from the future.

[@MatthewMS.]

Sam Altman is very incredible 🤖📈🇺🇸

[@alexandroheredia]

This dude 52:17 said: "They won't take my question so I'm gonna make them notice me with my keyboard".

[@BenedictGS]

10% better each week

[@jackduplechain7592]

I enjoyed listing to the audio imaging he was the actor in silicone valley, which also I think he shat on.

[@duyeji7794]

thank Greylock!!!!!!!!

[@elcat9091]

Does anybody know what Dustin Moskovitz lecture or video Sam mentions at the end?

[@eliomags8352]

elcat9091 kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKDUmHSvaM1nha8

[@alvarolacalle1326]

Great! Thanks!

[@shafai100]

Thanks greylock

[@coolbeatguy]

44:45 That's the problem I'm having right now. I have a fantastic product but I cannot find any B2B enterprise customers... We're bootstrapped and have a unique product. Does anybody have any suggestions on getting those first customers?

[@luisrueda4476]

What is your product?

[@adamlee9347]

Sam is amazing

[@christian-xh9hx]

Summary - Y Combinator funds and enables innovation in the world by supporting startups through advice, connections, and access to a community of alumni. - YC funds about 250 startups per year in their core program and has a fellowship program that they plan to scale up. - The alumni community of YC is strong and helps each other with fundraising and product development. - YC has changed the world of investing and has made it more favorable for founders. - YC has funded all eight billion-dollar companies that have ever been created in any accelerator, which is a result of the network effect at their stage of funding. - YC's network of alumni is a valuable resource for founders and is a key factor in their success. - Y Combinator investors take a bet on founders and care about their success. - Founders feel a stronger bond with early investors and are more willing to give back to the community. - Y Combinator cultivates a community of founders who help each other during the program and beyond. - Silicon Valley companies get big fast by stepping on the gas and using the network underneath them. - Sam Altman learned that he did not want to be a venture investor or public equities picker. - Sam Altman would be a hands-off later stage investor if he were to become one. - Sam Altman's transition to President of Y Combinator was not traumatic because he knew the organization well. - Successful new CEOs must refound the company every time. - Y Combinator's mission is to find and help the best founders in the world. - Clarity of vision and determination are important qualities in successful founders. - The ability to get things done quickly and raw intelligence are also important. - Y Combinator prefers two or three person founding teams, but has funded successful solo founders in the past. - It's important to have a co-founder, but don't force it. - Most successful companies have two or three founders. - Co-founders should work through disagreements, but sometimes a relationship is done. - Diversity of backgrounds and perspectives is good, but diversity of vision can be a killer. - Complementary teams with the same vision and different skills are ideal. - The best startups hire the least and do a lot without hiring. - Startups should wait to hire their first non-founder employee until they are really ready to scale. - Companies like Airbnb, Stripe, and Dropbox took several months to hire their first employee. - The Bay Area is still the best place to start a startup, but the high cost of living could be a problem. - The Bay Area has become less diverse in terms of funding teams. - Finding good ideas that seem bad is key to achieving outsized returns in startups. - Investors should avoid investing in derivatives of successful companies and instead focus on finding the next big thing. - Investors are rushing to invest in 'Uber for X' startups, but the next hundred billion dollar company is unlikely to be in these verticals. - Instead, focus on identifying the next big shift in the world and start a company in that space. - It may look bad at first, but if you have internal conviction and a set of users that love your product, it will get easier to ignore the naysayers. - Launching quickly and having a set of users that become dependent on your product can give you conviction even when others doubt you. - If you have conviction based on a shift in the world that others have missed, it can help you stay the course. - Companies need to get better by 10% each week in the early days to become a really big company. - Listen to your users, not the naysayers, and be willing to pivot if necessary. - Failure should be tolerated, but not glorified. Learn from it and move on. - According to Sam Altman, failures are still bad, but it's important that they're tolerated and not held against you. - Successful pivots are either what the founder wanted to build all along or what the founders discovered while building their first thing. - The Airbnb founders' pivot during the financial crisis is an example of a successful pivot. - Slack's pivot from a game company to an internal tooling company is an example of discovering something other people need along the way. - Joining a successful company that is growing as quickly as possible is the best way to learn valuable pre-startup training. - Focusing on product means putting almost all of your time into talking to users, creating product, and making sure that you have some users that really love your product. - Many YC companies get their customers from the YC community. - Founders often struggle with balancing growth and fixing internal issues. - Startups require constant attention and momentum to succeed. - Founders must prioritize building a great product that users love over other tasks like fundraising or public image. - Founders can fall in love with different areas, such as public image or networking events, but must stay focused on what actually matters. - Sam Altman discusses common mistakes made by founders, including waiting too long to fire bad employees. - Altman explains that firing bad employees is difficult but necessary, and that keeping them in a position for too long can actually hurt them more. - Altman discusses the opportunities in vertical machine learning companies and the potential for discovering the algorithm behind actual intelligence and creativity. - He also mentions the potential for developing superhuman general intelligence and the importance of solving the problem of energy to improve the quality of life for people, especially the poorest. - Sam Altman discusses the problems he cares about, including health, economics, and war. - He mentions being involved in a fusion company and a fishing company. - He believes that solar and nuclear energy will be the future. - Altman reflects on the passage of time and the importance of making the most of limited opportunities. - He shares his perspective on the intensity required to work at a startup and the limited window of time to be a great startup CEO. - Altman advises considering the shortness of life and focusing on what is most important and satisfying. - He gives advice on firing people, emphasizing treating them with respect and helping them find new opportunities. - Altman discusses how to fire friends and the importance of making it a win for them. - He advises being clear and firm when firing someone to avoid complicated power dynamics. - Altman criticizes the advice in management books and suggests a more constructive approach to firing employees. - In negotiating, it's important to avoid making it adversarial and instead focus on finding the best way forward for everyone involved. - According to Sam Altman, the best founders are generalists who can transition from building a product to building a company. - Y Combinator funds companies that aim to make a positive difference in the world, and they have had great success doing so. - YC has funded companies across the world and advises startups not to focus too much on valuation numbers. - Sam Altman doesn't believe that spending more time in school necessarily correlates with success as a founder. - Sam Altman discusses the qualities he looks for in founders, including being fast movers and not necessarily having a traditional education. - He emphasizes that how you want to live your life and the kind of person you want to be are more important factors than education when it comes to startups. - Altman thanks the interviewer and concludes the discussion. Context Y Combinator (YC) is a startup accelerator that has launched over 4,000 companies, including well-known names such as Airbnb, Dropbox and Reddit. YC provides seed funding, mentorship and resources to early-stage startups in exchange for equity in the company. The company's accelerator program started in Boston and Mountain View before expanding to San Francisco in 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic, YC moved its program entirely online. To understand the article about Y Combinator fully, a basic understanding of startup culture and entrepreneurship is necessary. Knowledge of venture capital and accelerators would also be helpful. The article explores several themes such as the importance of community and networking in the startup world; qualities and characteristics of successful founders; challenges and opportunities of pivoting in a startup; focusing on product development; role of investors in success; potential for technology to make a positive impact on society. The historical context is set within modern-day startup culture with Y Combinator being one of its major players. There are no specific recent events mentioned but information provided is current as at September 2021. Related topics include venture capital, angel investing, incubators/accelerators/startup culture/entrepreneurship/business management/leadership/technology innovation while extensions include ethics/social responsibility/government support or regulation/global challenges like climate change or inequality. Alternative angles could explore underrepresented groups' challenges/opportunities within startups or how universities foster entrepreneurship while future outlooks could examine new technologies disrupting current landscape/startups shaping society/economy/Y Combinator's impact on industry growth etcetera. Definitions provided include pivot/founder/incubator/valuation/venture capital/Angel investor/Y Combinator

[@glassarthouse]

"1/10th of the money, and less advice." Rimshot! And I think a few years later now, they have stopped that program and are going to do a MOOOC. Interesting.

[@MinhPhan-sf9hk]

Massive thank from Vietnam

[@nicolasst.5045]

'the only people that really love bitcoin, are the people that are expecting to get rich on it because they bought their coins early' (x) Like

[@thehari75]

This didnt age well..

[@BenedictGS]

@@thehari75 It aged really well like fine wine. I have nothing against bitcoin or crypto. 'getting rich from it' is what most people think when they jump in.

[@MostCommentsAreFake-ud8by]

Michael Dell was a sole founder.

[@prakalplohiya7489]

Why does Sam Altman just not smile? Or is he just consciously trying to give a deep thinker look?

[@Gabebox]

Same w/ his response to having read the Martian. Just say no, dude.

[@jamespollock11]

He could star in the Jerry Lewis Story.

[@thisisleor1231]

52:06

[@asif_mojtoba]

52:06 THIS

[@DanielKoss]

1.06.39

[@alexreitz3146]

What is YC? I dont understand what this guy does

[@alexskinner6905]

They invest in start up companies and offer guidance to grow the start up into a publicly traded company.

[@rantg]

Just out of curiosity , except from an iOS app, what Sam actually did except from being close to Paul?

[@TheAmurthuka]

RIP english

[@1000sieverts]

The Open AI CEO!

[@snippletrap]

Zuckerberg was a solo founder wasn't he?

[@MostCommentsAreFake-ud8by]

Not at all

[@Gabebox]

xD? Dustin and Eduardo

[@bojannovkovic8818]

Anyone else feels like some of John's comments are a bit awkward...

[@alvarolacalle1326]

Boyan Novkovic I think it's also because Sam seems sort of unconfortable

[@dkoleary88]

He is a terrible interviewer

[@RusuTraianCristian]

he's a tech guy, they all are unconfortable around many people :D

[@MatthewMS.]

1:23 ahh an Ivy League drop out, a tale as old as time ; )

[@nbaleague9544]

Sole founder: Bezos?

[@thourt]

no, with his wife

[@BenedictGS]

Waiting too long to fire a bad employee

[@ganeshprasadrao5596]

buy bitcoin?

[@aidenkim6629]

I love what Y combinator is doing but isn't their tight community kinda like cronyism is that just me?

[@j121212100]

is it me or does he look like he didn't sleep for a week?

[@willmanning3819]

Ya I was thinking the same thing and looking to see if anyone agreed. I'm not sure about what else it could be.

[@ericeubanks914]

Uhm!

[@monkeyrobotsinc.9875]

Yeah, ai owns this crap.

[@pierrebitcan]

Do you even lift, bruh?

[@eastsidelakerfan]

Sam seeming disagreeable and feisty in this one.

[@rarcurtin]

The overrated medicine phenotypically grab because chocolate phytogeographically battle into a lively patch. smoggy, piquant energy

[@EvaGreenFanPennyDreadful]

Honestly, the whole diversity thing is stupid. It's just lazy or dumb or untalented people trying to rationalize why they suck at who they are and what they do. If people want to be entrepreneurs, and their gender or skin colour stops them from being one, then they aren't really entrepreneurs in the first place. You're just acting like a victim and making excuses. You aren't an entrepreneur by calling yourself one or thinking you are one or even hearing somebody else tell you you're one. So what if no VC wants to invest in you if you're black? So what if no VC wants to invest in you because you're a female? You know the facts now, so find a way around, over or through it. There was an excellend article written by Jason Calacanis about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. It was a brutal read, but through some subtweets Jason made with other angel investors, he said: "if a founder reads that article, grits their teeth with determination and still pursues their idea, I want to invest in their company!" From observing reality and reading books, I believe that great entrepreneurs (and successful people) come from all walks of life...and every single one of them have encountered problems, challenges and obstacles along the way.

[@r.ramirez1521]

You know what? I agree. I'm an aspiring entrepreneur of Latin descent and I definitely agree with this. As a so-called 'millennial' I also often hear how my generation expects everything to be handed to them and to some degree I also concur. To be an entrepreneur is to be almost certain that you will fail. That you will be told no a thousand times before you get one "yes". To know you will be laughed at, mocked, shit on, pushed down, and eaten alive. To know all this and still pursue your venture and build not just your start up but yourself as well. One's race and socioeconomic background will play a part in obtaining funding, in gathering coverage and buzz, and to a certain extent it will hold you back but if you throw down more excuses than you throw down possible solutions then entrepreneurship isn't for you. To all aspiring entrepreneurs who feel themselves at a disadvantage: those who made it by struggling made it the best. Throw yourself, fully and totally and with fangs bared, into whatever you want to do but prepare for a test of endurance not just sheer strength.

[@nightlifeking]

+Eva Green I agree with you from an entrepreneur pov, but just as you're pointing out not everyone is an entrepreneur so the issue with diversity becomes one of opportunity for tech careers and jobs. I guess I'm considered an "exceptional" black person. I'm a tech executive and I've started from an unpaid internship. My journey has been 10x harder than my white and Asian counterparts. I'm constantly having to prove my value and competency when I meet people. The reason for this is because there aren't a lot of tech executives or tech people in general that look like me. So the point of diversity is changing the face of what a tech person is believed to look like. So people don't have to be exceptional to get opportunities. There have been many cases where people will pass over a female candidate because they have never seen a female programmer before. This diversity "thing" is not stupid, it's real.

[@EvaGreenFanPennyDreadful]

nightlifekingcom thanks for sharing. Yes, you're right. I agree.

[@gustavofelicidade_]

white bullshit

[@JoelWolh]

Smart guy, really dumb when he started talking about the diversity in the class.....