5 ms·

What makes Sam Altman so amazing? What attributes does Sam Altman have that make pg such a fan? I was annoyed by the reporter's "holding back?" attempt.

unalone 17y ago
We have asked that many times. Paul still doesn't answer, probably because he thinks that signing multiple deals with phone companies speaks for itself. (I've asked repeatedly why PG focuses on sama rather than Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame, and many interesting arguments have sprung up from my making that comparison, but sadly Paul hasn't joined in.)
- johnnybgoode 17y ago
  In case anyone hasn't seen this yet: http://www.paulgraham.com/5founders.html http://www.paulgraham.com/5founders.html The list has some questionable entries even before you get to #5. At that point it just seems comical. But I could be wrong, of course.
  - unalone 17y ago
    And the discussion thread, in which I ask this question for the first of many times: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=542291 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=542291 Half a year ago, jeez. It feels much longer ago than that. It's one of those cyclical HN debates that I always feel compelled to say my line in. Kind of like the Metafilter threads where certain users always have to say certain lines.
    - johnnybgoode 17y ago
      Yeah, it's a puzzle. But then, of the five entries, I think only one really belongs there. (No prize for guessing which one...)
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
  - pg 17y ago
    In the first paragraph I explained the criterion I used to make the list. It's just the 5 founders who've influenced me the most.
    - johnnybgoode 17y ago
      Right, I saw that. That's why I didn't just call the list wrong outright. But I do wonder why the founders on that list influenced you more than all the others.
- pg 17y ago
  Sam and Mark seem quite similar actually. The reason I talk about Sam more is that I know him so much better. What sets Sam apart (and Mark as far as I can tell) is great force of character.
  - unalone 17y ago
    Fair enough.
iamelgringo 17y ago
A friend of mine recently hired on to Loopt, and said that Sam was the reason that he signed on to the company. "Sam's seemed like the kind of guy who could overcome pretty much any obstacle thrown in his path. I wanted to work on a company with a guy like that"
axod 17y ago
Is Loopt wildly profitable yet? After 4 years seems like it should be raking it in :/ Signing deals is cool, but do they equate to revenue and profit?
- medianama 17y ago
  Thats a very good point. There is always a huge gap between signing deals/PR and booking revenue, more so when you are dealing with bigger players like operators. Its unfortunate that nobody here talks about real numbers...
  - justin 17y ago
    Private companies rarely share all their revenue / profit numbers. It's amusing that lots of HN outsiders speculate and wildly miss on how YC companies are actually doing in real terms.
- justin 17y ago
  Amazon took more than 4 years, and nobody is complaining now. Loopt is a success now, and will be very successful in the future, and it is very impressive considering Sam started it when he was an undergrad.

unalone 17y ago

We have asked that many times. Paul still doesn't answer, probably because he thinks that signing multiple deals with phone companies speaks for itself. (I've asked repeatedly why PG focuses on sama rather than Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame, and many interesting arguments have sprung up from my making that comparison, but sadly Paul hasn't joined in.)

johnnybgoode 17y ago
In case anyone hasn't seen this yet: http://www.paulgraham.com/5founders.html http://www.paulgraham.com/5founders.html The list has some questionable entries even before you get to #5. At that point it just seems comical. But I could be wrong, of course.
- unalone 17y ago
  And the discussion thread, in which I ask this question for the first of many times: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=542291 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=542291 Half a year ago, jeez. It feels much longer ago than that. It's one of those cyclical HN debates that I always feel compelled to say my line in. Kind of like the Metafilter threads where certain users always have to say certain lines.
  - johnnybgoode 17y ago
    Yeah, it's a puzzle. But then, of the five entries, I think only one really belongs there. (No prize for guessing which one...)
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- pg 17y ago
  In the first paragraph I explained the criterion I used to make the list. It's just the 5 founders who've influenced me the most.
  - johnnybgoode 17y ago
    Right, I saw that. That's why I didn't just call the list wrong outright. But I do wonder why the founders on that list influenced you more than all the others.
pg 17y ago
Sam and Mark seem quite similar actually. The reason I talk about Sam more is that I know him so much better. What sets Sam apart (and Mark as far as I can tell) is great force of character.
- unalone 17y ago
  Fair enough.

iamelgringo 17y ago

A friend of mine recently hired on to Loopt, and said that Sam was the reason that he signed on to the company. "Sam's seemed like the kind of guy who could overcome pretty much any obstacle thrown in his path. I wanted to work on a company with a guy like that"

axod 17y ago

Is Loopt wildly profitable yet? After 4 years seems like it should be raking it in :/ Signing deals is cool, but do they equate to revenue and profit?

medianama 17y ago
Thats a very good point. There is always a huge gap between signing deals/PR and booking revenue, more so when you are dealing with bigger players like operators. Its unfortunate that nobody here talks about real numbers...
- justin 17y ago
  Private companies rarely share all their revenue / profit numbers. It's amusing that lots of HN outsiders speculate and wildly miss on how YC companies are actually doing in real terms.
justin 17y ago
Amazon took more than 4 years, and nobody is complaining now. Loopt is a success now, and will be very successful in the future, and it is very impressive considering Sam started it when he was an undergrad.