What lesson mattered most in scaling a tech platform?

Sam Altman

Chief Executive Officer · OpenAI

Clear goal and plan

Sam Altman says a clear goal and a clear plan to get there, including how decisions will be made along the way, is very important, citing the decision to bet on scaling deep learning as an example.

The answer starts at 10:29.

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Alex Blackwood

Co-Founder, Quality Fractional Real Estate Investing · Mogul

Hire for skill set

Alex Blackwood says the key lesson was to hire for the skill set rather than caring about prestige, which he calls noise; prestige can be an indicator but what matters is the skills you deem necessary.

The answer starts at 25:57.

Mark Abbott

Founder and CEO · Ninety

Copy what works

Mark Abbott says his philosophy in building businesses is to look at what others have done and copy what works, comparing it to Burger King watching McDonald's innovate and copying them.

The answer starts at 5:00.

Gustav Bang

Co-founder, CEO · Complir

Simplify everything

Gustav Bang says the biggest learning from founders like Max is simplifying things: when facing a decision, pick the most ambitious, most risky option, and don't treat a complex area as complex.

The answer starts at 7:52.

Harshil Mathur

CEO & Co-Founder · Razorpay

Delegate over 30% tasks

Harshil Mathur says his rule of thumb is to delegate anything that takes more than 30% of his time, because otherwise he becomes the point of failure and the organization cannot scale.

Colin Zima

Co-Founder, CEO · Omni

Be thoughtful about time

Colin Zima says his main advice is to be thoughtful about where you spend your time, reasoning that a startup founder keeping the company afloat must make sure their time is spent well, since a meeting that doesn't make money that day may not add value.