It's an old - and true - cliche that VCs rarely actually say 'no' - more often they say 'maybe', or 'not right now', or 'my partners aren't sure', or 'that's interesting, let me think about it'
Interpretation
Venture capitalists often avoid outright rejections in favor of non-committal responses, which can be frustrating for entrepreneurs.
This quote highlights the tendency of venture capitalists (VCs) to use ambiguous language when responding to investment proposals. Instead of providing a definitive 'no', they might say phrases like 'maybe' or 'not right now', leaving entrepreneurs in a state of uncertainty. This can create a false sense of hope, as it allows entrepreneurs to interpret these responses in various ways, often clinging to the potential of future interest rather than facing an outright rejection.
In practice
During a pitch meeting, an entrepreneur might recount this quote to emphasize the uncertainty faced when seeking funding.
People are so bad at driving cars that computers don't have to be that good to be much better. Any time you stand in line at the D.M.V. and look around, you're like, Oh, my God, I wish all these people were replaced by computer drivers.
It's really rare for people to have a successful start-up in this industry without a breakthrough product. I'll take it a step further. It has to be a radical product. It has to be something where, when people look at it, at first they say, 'I don't get it, I don't understand it. I think it's too weird, I think it's too unusual.'
Entrepreneurs say in an economic boom it's actually hard to build a company because everybody's too excited and there is too much money funding too many marginal companies.
I love what the Valley does. I love company building. I love startups. I love technology companies. I love new technology. I love this process of invention. Being able to participate in that as a founder and a product creator, or as an investor or a board member, I just find that hugely satisfying.
China is very entrepreneurial but has no rule of law. Europe has rule of law but isn't entrepreneurial. Combine rule of law, entrepreneurialism and a generally pro-business policy, and you have Apple.
An awful lot of successful technology companies ended up being in a slightly different market than they started out in.
What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.
Would I swap what I have achieved as a cook if I could have been as successful as a footballer? Definitely.
Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.
My target is to make the players as rich as possible within the financial constraints of the club. My target is not to give them less money. I'm happy to make them rich.
Industry is a better horse to ride than genius.
You know, I don't only play for the record books.
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