Pierre Omidyar Quotes

I go to class every day with the future Facebook and Twitter and Google employees, the future innovators and entrepreneurs who might have the next big thing. Knowing that and seeing their success and work ethic makes you want to be successful. It impresses me every day. It humbles me, too.

We started the company out of frustration with the employer that we had because we were building great stuff and there was no way that this stuff was ever going to get into the hands of the people who could use it.

The first Apple was just a culmination of my whole life.

I started out with a dream to make a star in a jar in my garage, and I ended up meeting the President of the United States!

Even entrepreneurs with the best ideas sometimes need a little wind beneath their wings.

Not everybody wants to be Mark Zuckerberg, but everybody wants to create a little piece of the American dream, the Silicon Valley version. I don't think that's a bad thing.

A lot of people have a great business idea; they just need a little push to make it a reality.

I didn't wake up one day and want to become an entrepreneur. I had the idea for Rent the Runway and thought it would be fun to work on and also thought if it was successful, it would make women feel great about themselves.

What's the word to describe the thing that all of us are trying to do, which is to found or work for or invest in a company that is the winner of all winners?

I think Steve Wynn, who was like my mentor and a second father, has been a great inspiration. He's a great mentor because he's a guy who's had great business success but also has always been driven by creativity - and inspired creativity.

When I give talks, I often quote from a button I received at a Google event: Always Be Creative. I use it to illustrate how important creativity is in technology and business.

I passionately believe that you should start a company that you really believe in. Don't start something that you have no interest in, start something that you're passionate about.

Being an entrepreneur doesn't make you a rich tycoon and being an innovator doesn't mean that you're successful. It just means that you're interesting.

There is no point in starting your own business unless you do it out of a sense of frustration.

Every kid coming out of Harvard, every kid coming out of school now thinks he can be the next Mark Zuckerberg, and with these new technologies like cloud computing, he actually has a shot.

The point of an accelerator is to teach you about companies and business, not about technology.

The collective energy of everyone is what really made Business 2.0 exciting.

You have all the reason in the world to achieve your grandest dreams. Imagination plus innovation equals realization.

Innovation comes to you from creators who do have a vision and a passion, and that is how we succeeded.

It's seen as dirty to be ambitious. What if U2 weren't ambitious? We wouldn't have that gift we have from them.

Everything begins with an idea.

We didn't know how to run a business, but we had dreams and talent.

Do what you love, and you will find the way to get it out to the world.

Successful people are the ones who think up things for the rest of the world to keep busy at.

A noble purpose inspires sacrifice, stimulates innovation and encourages perseverance.