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𝗦𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗺𝗮𝗻'𝘀 𝟵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 Building a great startup isn’t about luck—it’s about doing the right things consistently. Sam Altman, the former president of Y Combinator, has seen thousands of startups rise and fall. The best founders? They follow these 9 principles. 𝟭. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 The best founders personally talk to their customers. Brian Chesky, the founder of Airbnb, even lived with them! You don’t just build for your users; you build with them. 𝟮. 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁, 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 Successful startups have short feedback loops. Talk to customers → improve product → launch → repeat. If you get just 2% better every day, you’ll be unstoppable in a few years. 𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺 Most founders think in 2-3 years. The best founders think in decades. Amazon wasn’t built overnight. If you commit for 10 years, you’ll make smarter decisions and attract the right people. 𝟰. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗨𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 Big teams slow you down. In the early days, you need to pivot quickly. Keep your team lean until your product is working. Then, scale. 𝟱. 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁—𝗢𝗿 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗹𝗹 Your company is your team. A small team of great people beats a big team of mediocre ones. The best founders spend most of their time hiring and keeping top talent. 𝟲. 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘀 Details matter. Every customer experience should be perfect. The best founders are obsessed with execution and never settle for "good enough." 𝟳. 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗨𝗽 One YC startup applied 7 times before getting in. Every startup gets knocked down. The ones that win? They get back up one more time. 𝟴. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 Startups are a marathon, not a sprint. If you burn out, your company dies. Sleep, exercise, and maintain personal relationships—it’s your duty as a founder. 𝟵. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 The biggest companies have strong missions. You don’t need it on Day 1, but within the first two years, you must know why your startup exists. That mission will attract great talent, press, and customers. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 Building a startup is hard. But if you do these 9 things relentlessly, your chances of success skyrocket. Which of these principles do you need to improve on? If you found this helpful, then follow Vishu Bheda for more valuable startup insights from the world's best founders!