I Read Sam Altman’s Startup Playbook So You Don’t Have To
Here’s what actually matters when you’re building a startup:
✅ Clarity of Thought Wins
“What are you building, and why?”
You need to explain your startup in one sentence without sounding like a pitch deck. If it doesn’t excite at least some people right away, it’s probably too complicated or not solving a real problem.
✅ Great Founders Build Great Companies
Mediocre teams = mediocre outcomes.
The best founders are obsessive, adaptable, relentless. They’re easy to bet on because they’ll find a way, no matter what. That’s not theory...I’ve seen it in myself, and in every winning team I’ve led or backed. When I was rebuilding after a near-fatal car accident, that same “unstoppability” is what pulled me through. It’s not about the perfect background, it’s about the drive.
✅ Make Something People Love
Startups die when the product's just "okay." If users aren't recommending it unprompted, it's not ready. Altman says it perfectly: "Startups are the point in your life when tricks stop working." I've led teams through this cycle:
👉 Watch users
👉 Talk to users
👉 Build what they actually need
👉 Repeat
It's boring. It's gritty. But it compounds.
✅ Execution Is the Only Moat That Matters Early
A killer product means nothing if you can't turn it into a company. You can't outsource that. The job is yours: hire, sell, ship, repeat. I've helped founders go from zero to profitability, scaled ad programs that 4x'd profit, and coached executives on GTM strategies. The pattern is always the same—focus, speed, and doing the unsexy work better than anyone else.
✅ Pick the Right Co-Founder or Go Solo
Don't settle. YC says a bad cofounder is worse than none. You'll hit that "dip below the X-axis" moment. Your cofounder should be someone you'd never quit on, and who wouldn't quit on you.
✅ Monopoly Ambition Isn't Greedy: It's Smart
The best companies get more powerful with scale. Network effects, data, brand: all compounding. If you're not thinking about how to win at scale, you're just renting growth.
If I were coaching a founder today, I'd hand them this playbook—then tell them to go talk to customers, launch something ugly, and keep going until people care.
The hard truth? You don't need a "startup idea." You need an obsession.
Here’s the link to the playbook FWIW.