Vivek Wadhwa Quotes

I have seen entrepreneurs ask for hundreds of millions of dollars on a concept and try to sell because of 'their passion' for an idea. If the idea is that good, why wouldn't I cut you out and hire someone who is just as passionate for much, much less?

An entrepreneur must pitch a potential investor for what the company is worth as well as sell the dream on how much of a profit can be made.

We reviewed our process at Greylock and discovered that the best investments are non-obvious enough that they result in a mixed vote by our partnership.

Money is available from investors as long as you have a great business model and a talented leader.

I remember looking up to most any venture capitalist as someone who could make my little company happen with a single million-dollar check.

Venture capitalists don't pay attention to you unless you have an app or a widget.

It can be difficult to find investment for a new business, particularly one which is highly innovative or breaks new ground.

When you're facing an investor or the institutions or a distributor, it's you yourself with your own ideas and your own project.

Sometimes people think Y Combinator has big ideas about themes. But really, we just fund the best startups.

If you look at where the tried and true of Silicon Valley VC's are investing, it's in people who understand what it takes, who've been through it and have a network of people they can tap and resources to pull together.

One thing I'd like to do is angel investing in small companies. That's what's exciting, and if you are lucky to have a bit of money, you can take those risks.

If your business had no risk, you could go get a bank loan and call it a day. VCs like risks - without them, venture capital wouldn't exist. But they need to be risks that VCs are good at assessing and managing.

The more entrepreneurs in the world that are getting their ideas financed, the more great companies there are going to be that we can all invest in.

I could never convince the financiers that Disneyland was feasible, because dreams offer too little collateral.

There are many successful startup funders who are looking for ways to make a difference in the world.

When I graduate, I will either run a division of a company... or I'll get funding for my own company.

We all get into business, and we take a risk in terms of putting capital.

Investors like to invest based on traction, so it's always better to raise money when you've got more traction than less.

When you have a failed pitch, you meet many more venture capitalists than you really want to.

The statistics for investing in small businesses are such that the vast majority fail.

I just came from school one day and told my mom I want to start my finance company.

Finding initial funds is the primary barrier most entrepreneurs face. Many people don't have three or six months' worth of savings to free themselves up to do months of unpaid legwork.

Something like Pinterest would scare the hell out of me. With $5 billion valuation - regardless how sound those numbers are - wouldn't be one that I would start, given what I would consider the risk of failure.

Graduating business school, I had $150,000 of debt. An investment firm offered me a steady job, but it didn't feel right. It was 2007 in Silicon Valley, and I dreamed of starting an Internet company.

Access to capital is one of the most important first steps entrepreneurs take when starting a business, and it is also one of the biggest difficulties, especially for our veterans.