Be Relentlessly Resourceful

Sam Altman on a Paul Graham idea that never became venerated advice to the degree it should have. Source: @HarvardHBS (Oct 2024).

"One of the things that Paul Graham used to say that I think never became venerated advice to the degree it should have is this idea that you should try to be relentlessly resourceful. Surprisingly often, if you just keep looking for new attack vectors on a problem in front of you, you can figure it out. And I think this is one of the most important skills in life… it works in almost all scenarios."

The 30 Paths Story

Sam recalls trying to get a deal done with a mobile operator that risked killing his first startup when he was 19 years old:

"They didn't really work with startups or technology companies in general, and we probably tried 30 different paths into this company…. [Then] the key decision maker said, I'm finally going to meet with you because I want you to stop bothering us."

The deal got done. Most people would have stopped at the first ignored email — or at most the second.

What It Means in Practice

Relentless resourcefulness is not stubbornness. It is the willingness to keep generating new angles on a problem rather than accepting that the current approach is the only one. Every time one path closes, ask: what is the next attack vector?

This applies far beyond sales — recruiting, partnerships, fundraising, product blockers, regulatory hurdles. The founders who move fastest are rarely the ones with the cleanest path; they are the ones who never run out of ideas for what to try next.