“If people really want to do something, all they need to do is meet someone who's built something from scratch to show them that it can be done by someone just like them. That's how I started.”— Dennis Crowley
The quote archive
A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.
Money is not my first priority – I have always pursued what I am passionate about whether that will make me money or not, my fascination is learning and discovery more than being rich and powerful.
— Richard BransonFounder of Virgin Group & British Billionaire Entrepreneur
The key is just to treat your staff how you would like to be treated yourself. You should treat your employees like the smart and capable adults they are. Give them the choice to make informed decisions and you will cultivate an environment in which everyone can flourish.
— Richard BransonFounder of Virgin Group & British Billionaire Entrepreneur
If you fall flat on your face, at least you're moving forward. All you have to do is get back up and try again!
— Richard BransonFounder of Virgin Group & British Billionaire Entrepreneur
You are going to have to get out there and sell yourself. Make a fool of yourself – whatever it takes. Make sure you appear on the front page and not the back pages.
— Richard BransonFounder of Virgin Group & British Billionaire Entrepreneur
The area under the curve over time is greater if you keep your prices low than if you jack them up to maximise revenue. I'd get kicked out of a business school for saying something like that, but it's true.
— Jim McKelveyCo-Founder of Square & Mobile Payment Pioneer
Most people don't know why an airplane stays in the air, but they'll still get on and fly to another continent.
— Jim McKelveyCo-Founder of Square & Mobile Payment Pioneer
You should try and copy everything you possibly can! It's just that if you run out of alternatives, if you run out of options to copy, you will realise that your entire life has conditioned you to not only be a great copier, but to hesitate when copying is no longer an option.
— Jim McKelveyCo-Founder of Square & Mobile Payment Pioneer
Most people I would consider world-class, successful entrepreneurs never volunteered for the job. They were kicked out like the guy who offended the king and was kicked out of the city walls.
— Jim McKelveyCo-Founder of Square & Mobile Payment Pioneer
I also want to dispel the hero-myth of entrepreneurs, that they're somehow super-gifted individuals who are better than me or the people I know. I don't know any like that – my friends sleep late, smell funny, do stupid stuff and have weird joint problems. I don't know any superhumans.
— Jim McKelveyCo-Founder of Square & Mobile Payment Pioneer
Doing something that has never been done before is terrifying… all the people who love you will tell you not to do it… not because they're jealous, but because they're genuinely scared for you… they're worried for your wellbeing. If you venture outside that wall, you are really somebody who has traded security and certainty for freedom and risk.
— Jim McKelveyCo-Founder of Square & Mobile Payment Pioneer
While many investors were caught in this crisis, the leading economists in the world saw it coming.
— Kenneth MurrayThe past 10 days have been 'the most dramatic in Wall Street's 216-year history' seeing Lehman Brothers collapse, AIG fall into critical distress, and the US Federal Reserve creating a c. US$1 Trillion rescue plan to 'save the world'.
— Kenneth MurrayThe artificiality and unsustainability comes in when loans are made to customers who cannot repay those loans, and without sufficient regulatory control.
— Professor Wim NaudéEconomics professor specializing in entrepreneurship, innovation, and development in Africa
Monetary support for development in itself will not accelerate growth in the real economy to artificial or unsustainable levels. It is how the finance is used – or misused.
— Professor Wim NaudéEconomics professor specializing in entrepreneurship, innovation, and development in Africa
Consider for instance that the bulk of the world's foreign exchange reserves – trillions of dollars – are held by developing economies, and that the US runs a current account and budget deficit of astronomical proportions.
— Professor Wim NaudéEconomics professor specializing in entrepreneurship, innovation, and development in Africa
The essence of the evolving global economic system is that all countries are dependent on one another in some way, and this includes finance. Emerging and developing countries are dependent on capital inflows from developed regions. But developed regions are also dependent on funds from the developing world!
— Professor Wim NaudéEconomics professor specializing in entrepreneurship, innovation, and development in Africa