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Sam Altman: Ask For What You Want. You'll Get Told No a Lot. Sometimes It Works.

By Sam Altman · Startup Growth · 1 min read

Most founders shoot themselves in the foot because they never ask. They never ask that person to quit their job. They never ask that big company for a deal.

Key Points

Ask for what you want — you'll get told no, but sometimes it works
Most founders aren't aggressive enough in asking
Each crisis gets less scary than the one before
By your 19th crisis, you know you'll survive it

Ask for what you want. You will get told no a lot. But sometimes it will work.

Just Ask

Sam Altman wishes someone told him this earlier: ask for what you want. You'll get told no a lot. Sometimes it works.

Most founders shoot themselves in the foot because they're not aggressive enough. They don't ask that brilliant person to quit their job and join. They don't ask that big company to do a deal. They just... don't ask.

"Entrepreneurs shoot themselves in the foot because they don't ask that person to quit their job and come join them. They're just not aggressive enough."

Crises Get Smaller

Altman says this is a lesson nobody can teach you. You have to live it. Early on, every crisis feels like a company-killing event. You have no idea how to survive.

But you do survive. And the next crisis is a little less scary. By your 19th crisis, you think: I survived the first 18. I'll probably get through this one too.

"On the 19th major crisis, you're like — well, I survived the first 18. I'll probably get through this one."