If you want something in a deal, just ask for it.

You need to figure out what the 2 or 3 most important things are, and then just do those.

It's difficult to get large groups of people, to the extreme levels of focus and productivity that you need, for a startup to be successful.

The role of the board is advice and consent. If the CEO does not lay out a clear strategy and tries to get the board to set one, it will usually end in disaster.

Wait to start a startup until you come up with an idea that you feel compelled to explore.

You have to let your team get all the credit for all the good stuff that happens, and you take responsibility for the bad stuff.

At YC we have this public phrase, and it's relentlessly resourceful.