"Patents make our product defensible." The optimal number of times to use the P word in a presentation is one. Just once, say, "We have filed patents for what we are doing." Done. The second time you say it, venture capitalists begin to suspect that you are depending too much on patents for defensibility. The third time you say it, you are holding a sign above your head that says, "I am clueless."

Let yourself be enchanted in small ways.

Knowledge is great. Competence is great. But the combination of both encourages people to trust you and increases your powers of enchantment. And in this world, the combination is a breath of fresh air.

My theory is that when you're young, you should work eighty hours a week to create a product or service that changes the world.

Revolutionary leaders have to care more about what they think of themselves than what the world thinks of them.

I have four kids in a private school who have not yet entered college. Their tuition is what keeps me motivated. Life is simple sometimes.

The jewelry business is a very, very tough business - tougher than the computer business. You truly have to understand how to take care of your customers.