Hey everyone 👋
I’m Michael and welcome back for another episode of The Takeoff Podcast. We hope everyone is enjoying the abbreviated work / school week and has an incredible Thanksgiving 🦃.
Today, we are releasing the audio of our conversation with Sam Altman from a few months ago. We originally released this conversation in the form of a newsletter, but a ton of folks reached out asking us to release the audio, too, so here it is! Here’s the written version.
Note from Michael: This is my first podcast episode for The Takeoff. Please, please give feedback by leaving a comment below or shooting me a dm on Twitter (@mspiro3). We love hearing from you! I hope you guys enjoy the listen :)
Listen on:
Sam Altman is the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI. Prior to joining OpenAI as CEO, Sam was the president of Y Combinator, the world’s leading startup accelerator, having helped launch companies such as Stripe, Airbnb, DoorDash, Twitch, Reddit, and Dropbox. Before joining Y Combinator, Sam founded Loopt (a location-based social networking app) while at Stanford in 2005. He later sold Loopt for $43.4M.
In this episode, Sam joins The Takeoff’s Michael Spiro to discuss:
His experience founding Loopt while at Stanford
His experience running Y Combinator
What he is building with OpenAI
The benefits of founding / joining a high-growth startup early in your career
Why long-term thinking is critical
The importance of “getting good at sales”
How to know which projects to pursue further
His favorite food dish in St. Louis
Why poker is a great way to learn certain business / psychological skills
You can find us on Twitter @_TheTakeoff.
Interview by Michael Spiro (Founder at The Takeoff. Senior at Washington University in St. Louis. JMI Equity, Equal Ventures, Ground Up Ventures, Intello).
I’m on Twitter @mspiro3 👋 (direct any thoughts / comments / questions to my DMs)
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