Entrepreneurs almost always have to step out of existing institutions that embody old ways of doing things to build their vision.
I think that we're living in a time where there are trillion-dollar opportunities that never existed before.
The world's better off the more Silicon Valleys there are and the more scaled companies there are.
Silicon Valley's long-running track record of creating globally disruptive startups is the envy of the world.
When you look around Silicon Valley at new companies, there are very few ideas that are going to make a dent in the universe.
The real force of Silicon Valley is the mentality, the spirit. There's no reason at all that can't be replicated in Paris.
You don't want to just do 'me too' companies that are copying what others are doing.
This is the age of disruption.
And ever since then [I] have set up businesses basically out of frustration. I mean, I set up Virgin Atlantic with one second-hand 747 because I hated the experience of flying on other people's airlines. And I thought, you know, I could try to create the kind of airline that I'd like to fly on. And people liked it.
Industries that are chaotic are ripe for innovation. They are open to anyone who has an idea.
Silicon Valley loves a good origin story.
Start-ups should be based on radical ideas. There should be a high failure rate for start-ups, because if there isn't their ideas aren't bold enough.
Silicon Valley has been developing as a startup community for over 60-70 years. This notion that you can create something in two or five years is foolish.
I don't think fashion week will go back to what it used to be because people are realising that the industry is completely changing. It's not just in Bryant Park any more, people are figuring out who their audience is, where they want to show, they aren't really playing by the rules. It's not so much about these editors, these buyers.
Rob Kalin, Etsy's founder, never finished college. Evan Williams, Biz Stone, Jack Dorsey - the founders of Twitter - are not college graduates. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, is another dropout. And, of course, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.
It would be idiotic to position ourselves against Silicon Valley.
I'm also a big believer of being a scrappy entrepreneur. To be successful you don't have to have all this crazy start-up capital or a ton of knowledge. I think it's actually helpful sometimes to not know all the rules because that way it's easier to break them. And that's why it's so much easier for younger people, I think, to start companies that are challenging more traditional business models than older people. Especially if you're trying to do something good.
We are already seeing the creation of a new kind of network based on friendships: Startups, which are often founded by friends, are the beginning of something that could reshape social relations.
