Michael Seibel Quotes

One of the great things about moving to Silicon Valley is that you're surrounded by all these people who've done it before. This place is an assembly line that takes a couple of twenty-somethings and walks you through everything you need to learn.

There is a directory where you can explore every single person who has gone through YC and a private forum that only founders can participate in.

Great VCs are more than mere investors; they are often seasoned leaders who have built companies themselves.

I wish I had known the value of interning at a startup before starting my own. There is so much I could have learned on somebody else's dime in a much lower-risk environment.

When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a screenplay writer or a photographer. First question people asked me: 'Who do you know? Any contacts?'

I came to TVF for 3-4 months after college. That was my internship time.

I am not a 34-year-old manager trying to make my way in the game; I have been around a long time.

Little girls and little boys need to have role models to look up to and know that, 'I'm not the first one. I'm not having to do this for the first time ever. Others have blazed the trail before me, and I can follow in their footsteps and do the same thing.'

Both my stepdad and my dad have said, 'Follow your heart and your dreams, but Tessa, this is a business and you need to become the best.' They don't sugarcoat things and I'm very, very blessed for that.

What would I advise an aspiring young entrepreneur? Certainly I'd say read the works of great entrepreneurs and investors like Ben Horowitz, Peter Thiel, and many others. But what's more important is to get real experience at a great startup.

Constantine 'Costa' Gratsos had made his fortune as a lifelong associate of shipping icon Aristotle Onassis. He took a liking to me, became my first mentor, and showed me how to swim in the deep, dangerous waters of business.

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.

I do believe I have certain strengths as a female CEO, such as having another level of awareness through emotional intelligence.

When you are constantly around other professionals, you end up learning and growing.

The first time I was called up for Germany, it was Mesut who decided to look after me. He told me if I ever had any kind of problem, he would try to help me out, and that is exactly what he did. For sure, he helped me a lot.

I was lucky to have been able to work so closely with Vince McMahon as he was able to see up-close what I could contribute to WWE, which lead to some amazing years not only at ringside, but also in the boardroom.

Most of my friends are assistant directors.

What I Iove about Y Combinator is that it is a level playing field. If you get in, you immediately become a Silicon Valley insider.

When I was 20 years old, my uncle was an arthouse distributor, and he would take me to Cannes every year to work as a film scout.

See, my philosophy is had Beyonce or Solange came to me and said Dad, I want to be a doctor. My personality is how do I buy a hospital? And that has nothing to do with stage. That has to do with the entrepreneurial inside of me.

As an 18-year-old, I would have needed an agent or a family to push me in the right direction. I would have liked that.

In most every business, you learn by doing. The apprenticeship model is much more effective than the classroom for cultivating entrepreneurs.

I have met with hundreds of young fashion designers, hundreds of fashion startups, hundreds of CEOs and business leaders. All I do is get to ask questions of professionals in the industry. I learn from every conversation. It is the best education I could have.

I would have loved to invest in Salesforce when I was active in venture. I didn't know the founder, Marc Benioff, well enough, and he didn't really rely on venture capital, but I remember the first time I met him and got to talk about Salesforce when they were still private. I thought, 'Damn, that is going to be a huge company.'

I've been fortunate to work with artists that are at the top of their respective genres. That allowed me to learn from them and their success.