“I knew Otto Kahn [According to the Figaro, Mr. Kahn on first going to America was a clerk in the firm of Speyer and Company, and married a grand-daughter of Mr. Wolf, one of the founders of Kuhn, Loeb & Company], the multi-millionaire, for many years. I knew him when he was a patriotic German. I knew him when he was a patriotic American. Naturally, when he wanted to enter the House of Commons, he joined the 'patriotic party.'” YearsFirstsWantedAmericaHousePartyCompanyMarriedDaughterJewFirmPatrioticFoundersMillionaireClerksAmerican PatrioticHouse Of CommonsGrand Daughter Author:Denis Fahey
“There's nothing more invigorating than being deeply involved with a small company and a young team of founders out to do something incredibly special.” YoungCompanyTeamSpecialInvolvedFoundersInvigorating Author:Michael Moritz
“Every entrepreneur faces trade-offs when founding and growing their company. As we discovered at YouTube, those early decisions have far-reaching impacts and lead to unforeseen pitfalls down the road. Noam Wasserman uses vivid anecdotes and deep research to expertly outline the key early choices that define a startup, making The Founder's Dilemmas an invaluable alternative to real-world trial and error.” WorldRealUseFacesChoicesDecisionCompanyGrowingKeysResearchTradeImpactEntrepreneurErrorsTrialsAlternativesReachingReal WorldFoundersFoundingVividFalling DownYoutubeDilemmaOutlinesDown The RoadInvaluableAnecdotesTrial And ErrorPitfallsUnforeseenTrade Offs Author:Chad Hurley
“In talking to founder after founder; I've heard almost visceral reactions to working for companies, even very cool ones with great things to work on and lots of opportunity, like Facebook, Google, or consulting firms.” OpportunityCompanyTalkingHeardReactionsGreat ThingsFirmFoundersGoogleVisceralConsultingVery CoolLike Facebook Author:Maynard Webb
“I have been accused of being ignorant of economics (although I am the founder and Chairman of the Board of a company which publishes seven professional economic newsletters), of being ignorant of sociology (although I am trained in sociology and was C. Wright Mills' research assistant at Columbia), of being unable to use statistics (although I earned my living as a professional statistician for five years) and of ignoring political factors (although all my graduate training was in political science).” YearsHas BeensUsePoliticalCompanyFiveEconomicTrainingResearchEconomicsSevenIgnorantFactorsBoardsFive YearsStatisticsGraduatesFoundersSociologyAccusedPublishPolitical ScienceChairmanAssistantsMillsColumbiaStatisticianBeing IgnorantNewsletters Book:The New Psychohistory Source: The New Psychohistory
“I was an executive running a pretty substantial group before becoming CEO, and I had no idea what it was like. When something goes wrong, people say, 'It's all your fault.' Your reaction is, 'It's not my fault.' But what do you mean? I was the founder, I hired everybody in the company, I was managing it.” PeopleMeanIdeasRunningCompanyGroupsBecomingFaultsReactionsNo IdeaExecutivesFoundersCeo Author:Ben Horowitz
“Most good founders that I know at any given time have a set of small overarching goals for the company that everybody in the company knows.” KnowsGivenGoalCompanyFounders Author:Sam Altman
“Whatever the founder cares about, whatever the founders think are the key goals, that's going to be what the whole company focusses on.” ThinkingWholeCareGoalCompanyKeysFounders Author:Sam Altman
“... for the top twenty most valuable YC companies, all of them have at least two founders.” TwoCompanyTeamTwentiesValuableFounders Author:Sam Altman
“Many of the best YC companies have had phenomenally small number of employees for their first year, sometimes none besides the founders.” YearsFirstsSometimesNumbersCompanyTeamEmployeeFoundersSmall Numbers Author:Sam Altman
“We pretty much won't fund a company now where the founders don't have vested equity because it's just that hard to do.” HardCompanyTeamFundFoundersEquity Author:Sam Altman
“Before 20 or 25 employees, most companies are structured with everyone reporting to the founder. It's totally flat.” CompanyEmployeeFlatsFounders Author:Sam Altman
“Founders need to figure out what the message of the company is going to be.” NeedsCompanyFiguresMessagesFounders Author:Sam Altman
“I think Google's founders are both a couple of guys with some high ideals which have been to some degree reflected in the way the company has been run in terms of its having a very good workplace and good employee programs, and now that they're going public they want in some ways to be able to ensure that that kind of approach continues. So they've effectively put in place this notion of "Don't Be Evil".” ThinkingWayWantKindHas BeensRunningAbleGuyEvilTermBusinessCompanyCoupleDegreesApproachIdealsProgramNotionVery GoodEmployeeFoundersGoogleGood WorkWorkplace Author:Joel Bakan
“"If you are loyal you are successful," ruminated the company paper at one time. "All useful work is raised to the plane of art when love for the task-loyalty-is fused with the effort. Loyalty is the great lubricant of life. It saves the wear and tear of making daily decisions as to what is best to do. The man who is loyal to his work is not wrung nor perplexed by doubts, he sticks to the ship, and if the ship founders he goes down like a hero with colors flying at the masthead and the band playing."” IfsMenArtDecisionEffortCompanySuccessfulDoubtTearsColorHe ManHeroBandPaperTasksSticksRaisedLoyaltyFlyingShipsPlanesOne TimeLoyalFoundersPerplexed Author:Thomas Watson
“When I meet with the founders of a new company, my advice is almost always, ‘Do fewer things.’ It’s true of partnerships, marketing opportunities, anything that’s taking up your time. The vast majority of things are distractions, and very few really matter to your success.” MatterOpportunityCompanyAdviceMajorityMarketingDistractionFewerPartnershipFoundersNew Company Author:Evan Williams
“When I look at founders and CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook and Brian Chesky at Airbnb and Sebastian Thrun at Udacity, these are companies that are creating extraordinary social good and extraordinary economic and educational empowerment, all within with context of a for-profit model.” LooksSocialCompanyEconomicCreatingModelsEmpowermentMarkExtraordinaryProfitEducationalFoundersCeoBrianSocial GoodZuckerbergAirbnb Author:Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen
“There are three things you need to do as a CEO-founder. Think strategically, drive design, and drive technology. Some people who are really good at one can build a pretty foundational company. Most people who are very successful are good at two. But Jack is the only person in the Valley I've met who's all three. He's a first-rate strategist, a first-rate designer, and a first-rate technologist.” PeopleThinkingNeedsFirstsPersonsTwoThreeCompanyTechnologySuccessfulDesignMetsRateDesignerValleysFoundersCeoThree ThingsStrategist Author:Keith Rabois
“Founders should think of their company as a product and build it and shape it with the same passion and care.” ThinkingShouldCarePassionCompanyProductsShapesFounders Author:Roelof Botha
“I'm the founder of the McAfee Anti-Virus Software Company. Although I have had nothing to do with this company for over 15 years, I still get volumes of mail asking 'how do I uninstall this software'. I have no idea.” YearsStillsIdeasCompanyAskingNo IdeaSoftwareMailFoundersVolumeVirusesSoftware Company Author:John McAfee
“That first company I started made a lot of money for the venture capitalists - nearly $30 million - but next to nothing for the founders. The companies I started after that varied between failures and mediocre successes. But at no point did I ever consider getting a 'real job.' That felt like a black and white world, and I wanted Technicolor.” WorldFirstsMadeRealWantedJobsNextFeltBlackWhiteCompanyMillionsCapitalistBlack And WhiteLots Of MoneyFoundersVentureMediocreNo PointReal JobsVenture Capitalists Author:Michael Arrington