Spend a Quarter of Your Time on It

“Spend more time recruiting” is item 9 of Sam Altman’s “What I Wish Someone Had Told Me” (blog.samaltman.com, 2023), a numbered list of lessons he would give a younger version of himself. The same item finishes the instruction: “Take risks on high-potential people with a fast rate of improvement. Look for evidence of getting stuff done in addition to intelligence.” Recruiting here is not open-ended effort. It is betting on people who are improving quickly and have a record of getting things done, weighed alongside how smart they are.

In his Startup Playbook, Altman attaches a number to that instruction: once a company has product-market fit, a founder should spend “about 25% of your time” on hiring, and keep doing so indefinitely. That turns recruiting from a task you pick up when a seat opens into a permanent quarter of the calendar.