Success...is no longer a simple ascension of steps. You need to climb sideways and sometimes down, and sometimes you need to swing from the jungle gym and establish your own turf somewhere else on the playground.

The reality is: a founder is someone who deals with a ton of different headaches and no one is universally super powered.

Silicon Valley tends to believe in the individual who creates a small group and does something big. Democracy is always frustrating, but it creates a society that, for example, allows us to invest in each other's kids, to have public education, to have both a greater society and individual freedom for creating businesses.

I was never given this advice, people aren't given this advice, focus on growing and maintaining relationships for your network, and that's key. And most of the advice tends to be, you know, discover your strengths, build up your resume, get a title, all of that stuff pales in comparison.

It's very conventional to say that you're a contrarian these days.

Be persistent, and hang on to your vision. And at the same time, be flexible.

What is an entrepreneur? Someone who jumps off a cliff and builds a plane on the way down.