"If you start a business only driven by money, you'll be more likely to quit when things get tough. Money is indeed a part of being an entrepreneur, but ideally, it's a by-product of being passionate about what you're doing."
"This spirit of sharing and paying it forward is key to fostering healthy ecosystems. It's how the most solid entrepreneurial ecosystems are nurtured: through the virtuous cycle of having success and then helping and reinvesting in future leaders."
"Entrepreneurship is a huge lever for social mobility and prosperity."
"Are you looking to build somethiing transformative, or do you really just want to have a lifestyle business? The life of a venture-backed entrepreneur is heavily tilted toward working around the clock, hustling on weekends, and waking up in the middle of the night because your mind is racing trying to solve a particular business problem."
"If you want money, ask for advice; if you want advice, ask your money."
"In order to take away valuable lessons and insights from the relationships, you also have to be willing to open yourself up and show vulnerability."
"There's a big difference between acting like you know what you're doing and acting like you think you know everything."
"If you seek out smart people from a place of humility, acknowledging all that you don't know, you'll be amazed at how much they give and how willing they are to help you. They key is just to be really curious and always ask a lot of questions."
"Trust is the most important ingredient between co-founders."
"A good co-founder relationship, like a good marriage, is not one where you never argue or fight- it's all about how you express your disagreements."
"Embrace co-founder conflict, but make sure you're fighting fair."
"Building a business with purpose is about looking at the problem and seeing the future."
"Values don't mean shit unless you live them."
"Businesses are so busy celebrating their successes that they develop a blind spot. They wind up discountiing their competitors to their own detriment. They're not on guard anymore, and that's exactly when the savvy newcomer decides to pounce."
"To paraphrase Alex Atala, one of the world's best chefs: the secret is not to prepare a dish that nobody else ever has, but rather to make a familiar dish and do it better. This is a good reminder that founders don't need to be so obsessed with innovation. (...) You just have to make the product work- either by inventing something new or making something that already exists better."
"Boards are a waste of time for early-stage companies. (...) Board meetings are eventually going to become important. (...) Ultimately, you're going to need a great"
"If you expect that there'll be sensitive discussions, you should have individual calls with board members before the meeting to get aligned in advance."
"It's a good rule of thumb generally in business to have everyone understand what everyone else does within the company. It helps people be better team players."
"The sign of a good investor is someone who remains calm during a storm."
"Fundraising is an iterative process where you learn from every pitch you do."
"An investor would rather invest in a company that already had an option pool so that they would be able to keep their share and not see it diluted."
"A lot of founders make the mistake of using the VC's own law firm as their company counsel."
"The best way to counter the VC's inherent advantage (information assymetry) is coming into the negotiation with a lot of leverage (interest from different investors)."
"A good investor will want to empower the founder, not control them."
"In the VC world, every investor has their archenemy."