Kevin Rose Quotes

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

I think the mistake people make most often when they invest in other kinds of startups is they say, 'This is totally different.' And so the things that matter, like making a product that people desperately want, like talking to customers, they throw this out the window. That is a recipe for heartache and tears.

I started to invest in very-early-stage companies where, even though I wasn't the founder, I could help shape the early strategy and culture.

If I had a do over, I'd indubitably start investing in startups earlier in life!

If you want to build a startup that has a good chance of succeeding, don't listen to me. Listen to Paul Graham and others who are applying tons of data to the idea of startup success. That will maximize your chance of being successful.

Kai-Fu's Innovation Works is the top very-early-stage fund in China. We are proud to be an investor, and hope that IW will help to produce in China companies on the scale of Facebook, Zynga, or Groupon.

What interests me is starting businesses on our own, finding ideas that we can support, and simply investing in invention.

Before I started Code for America, I spent my career around startups. First it was game developers, small teams trying to make hits in a tough business. Then, when I started working on the Web 2.0 events, it was web startups during times of enormous opportunity and investment.

I love working with really early stage startups where the outcome is still in doubt. Maybe they'll go on to greatness, or maybe they'll never get off the runway at all.

Many venture capitalists say they're looking for the next big idea. But they aren't, really; they're looking for something derivative, because derivative is safe.

I am a partner at CrunchFund, a venture capital firm with investments in many startups around the world. I am also a limited partner in many other venture funds which have their own startup investments.

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.

I want to create an environment where I can create technology, get it into the hands of someone to market it, and move on to other technologies so I can keep innovating. I want to be a serial entrepreneur: Incubate an idea, get it to a good state, and make that an enabler to get to the next state. It's every researcher's fantasy.

For decades, technology entrepreneurship has been revered, and people like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk were heroes.

When the venture industry started, it was enough to just have money and then it was enough to sort of have this big fuzzy brand. But now startups are getting a lot smarter.

The idea of investing in entrepreneurs who are building things from scratch, where I can participate in their dream, was very, very exciting to me.

I don't invest in ideas because ideas are a dime a dozen. I could steal the idea pretty quickly.

Before Blockchain Capital, I was cranking out startups like an incubator.

I hired a guy named David Sze to do consumer investing at Greylock. And he went on to invest in Facebook and LinkedIn. So I guess I did something right.

I'm in favour of entrepreneurial, risk-taking businesses that create great products and services.

Startup investing is one of my things, but it is not my everything.

'Bazillion Dollar Club' follows six struggling startups trying to get their products together.

I don't do a ton of deals a year, and I really like working with startups - it's the only way I can invest. It fits my ADD brain.

The stage of investing that I do is seed stage, so it's really early. Here's a pair of founders who maybe have a prototype. They have a little bit of traction, maybe one employee, tops. At that stage, you really, really can only evaluate a company based on those founders and what they've been able to build. It's very, very team driven.

Anybody who runs is a VC. Anybody who stands still is a well-disciplined VC.