Any time where the delta b/w what is possible and how things work today is at its widest, that’s an opportunity to go build new technology.
AARON LEVIEAny time where the delta b/w what is possible and how things work today is at its widest, that’s an opportunity to go build new technology.
AARON LEVIEGo after the customers that are working in the future, but haven’t totally lost their minds.
AARON LEVIEI have a lot of faults. I often interrupt in meetings. I talk too loud. I talk too fast.
AARON LEVIEIn an IT lead world, incumbents generally win because they have the existing relationship with the IT organization.
AARON LEVIEAlways look for these changing technology factors- any market that has a significant change in the underlying raw materials …or enabling factors, is an environment that is about to change in a very significant way.
AARON LEVIEWhat happens to the Microsofts, Oracles and IBMs of the world is that when they get big enough, they don’t think they need to bring that same level of focus and energy to the end-user experience.
AARON LEVIEIf every customer is using your product “correctly”, you’ll never learn anything interesting about what to do next.
AARON LEVIEYou intentionally start small, because you will not be able to compete with an incumbent… because the incumbent is always going to go for the full solution.
AARON LEVIEJeff Bezos is opening a retail store and owns a newspaper. Turns out everything we thought about the Internet is wrong.
AARON LEVIEI think bad politics are incredibly dangerous, so it’s important to make sure that people are communicating well. Culture and morale are super important. It’s best to not force it, but let it happen organically and genuinely.
AARON LEVIEYour product should sell itself, but that does not mean you don’t need salespeople.
AARON LEVIEIn a user lead model, users are bringing in their own technology… and you can build software then, around the user.
AARON LEVIEA lot of being productive personally is determined by how you organize your entire business. You can’t separate those two things.
AARON LEVIEIf you’re waiting for encouragement from others, you’re doing it wrong. By the time people think an idea is good, it’s probably too late.
AARON LEVIEIf there could’ve ever been a magical time to build an enterprise software company, now is absolutely that time.
AARON LEVIEYou can look at the cost structure of an incumbent company and discover: where are they not going to be able to drop their prices… because that business model is fundamental to the existence of the company.
AARON LEVIE