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If 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 Levie

In an IT lead world, incumbents generally win because they have the existing relationship with the IT organization.
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Incumbent IT Organisation Organization Relationship Winning World
You want to find the really crazy but still somewhat reasonable outliers within the customer ecosystem.
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Crazy Customer Ecosystem Reasonable
I’m certainly not into money and prestige. For me there is simply nothing more exciting than people involved in the creation of great products. That is what drives me.
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Certain Creation Involve People Prestige Simply
If people don’t think the odds are against you, you’re doing it wrong.
AARON LEVIE

Against Odd People Thinking Wrong
The only way to avoid disruption is to constantly do what you would if you were just starting out.
AARON LEVIE

Constant Disruption Out Starting Way
Better to be right about the trend and wrong about the implementation, than the other way around.
AARON LEVIE

Around Better Implementation Right Trend Way Wrong
Uber is a $3.5 billion lesson in building for how the world *should* work instead of optimizing for how the world *does* work
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Billion Doe Instead Optimize Uber World
In a user lead model, users are bringing in their own technology… and you can build software then, around the user.
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Bringing Building Lead Model Software Technology
You’ll learn more in a day talking to customers than a week of brainstorming, a month of watching competitors, or a year of market research.
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Competition Customer Research Talking Watch Year
Everything about the enterprise, and then by definition the software the enterprise uses has changed – just in the last 5 years.
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Change Definition Enterprise Software Use Year
The 10% between 90% done to 100% done takes most of the time, causes most of the stress, but is all of the value.
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Cause Done Percentage Stress Time
The best technology is aimed far enough in the future that it stands out, but close enough to the present that it blends in.
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Close Enough Out Present Standing Technology
When you’re doing something you’re passionate about, stress becomes a featurenot a bug.
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Bug Feature Passionate Something Stress
I think I’m the kind of person who would be very difficult to employ – I’m pretty annoying, but driven.
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Annoy Driven Kind Thinking Would
My workday begins around 11 A.M., with a cup of black coffee in each hand. If I had more hands, there would be more coffee.
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Begin Black Coffee Cup Hand Workday
We didn’t really start the company to go build an enterprise software company.
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Building Company Enterprise Software Start
If there could’ve ever been a magical time to build an enterprise software company, now is absolutely that time.
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Building Company Enterprise Magical Software Time
Your product should sell itself, but that does not mean you don’t need salespeople.
AARON LEVIE

Doe Mean Need People Product Sales
Jeff Bezos is opening a retail store and owns a newspaper. Turns out everything we thought about the Internet is wrong.
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Internet Newspaper Retail Store Wrong
In the enterprise you want to start intentionally small.
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Building Enterprise Intention Small Want
Startups live at the intersection of existential crisis and everything going perfectly great.
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Crisis Existential Great Perfectly Startup
I 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 LEVIE

Dangerous Important Incredible People Politics Thinking
All we’re really doing is repeating technologies that were tried 10, 20, 30 years ago… it’s just that it was too expensive, too unusable, and we didn’t have the enabling technologies to make it possible.
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Ago Done Enabling Repeat Technology Year
Always 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.
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Change Market Material Raw Significant Technology
The most customer-centric organizations can answer any question by deciding what’s best for the customer, without ever having to ask.
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Answer Ask Centric Customer Decide Organization
Startups often win because it’s easier to see what comes next when you don’t have to worry about maintaining what came last.
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Come Easier Last Startup Winning Worry
Start with something simple and small, then expand over time. If people call it a ‘toy’ you’re definitely onto something.
AARON LEVIE

Definite Expand People Simple Toy

If 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.

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If 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.

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Popular Authors

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