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Sam Altman on the advice he wish he received when he enrolled in YC in 2005

July 04, 2025

Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan asks OpenAI founder Sam Altman what he wish knew when he was going through YC back in 2005.

Sam responds:

“I wish someone had taught me the importance of conviction and resilience over a long period of time. People don’t really talk about how hard that is. It’s easy for a little while, but your reserves kind of wear down on it.”

He continues:

“Also just trust that it’s eventually going to work out. Obviously my first startup [Loopt] didn’t work that well. A lot of people give up after one failed startup, but startups don’t workout all the time. Learning how to keep working through that is really important. So is developing trust in your own instincts and increasing that trust as you refine your decision-making instincts over time. Courage to work on stuff that is out of fashion but is what you believe in and care about is also really important.”

Sam recently had a kid and reflects on how everyone will tell you that it’s “the best thing you will ever do, but also the hardest thing you will ever do.” He believes startups are similar:

“The good parts are really great — better than you think. And the hard parts are shockingly much harder than anyone can express in a way that makes any sense to you, and you have to just keep going.”