Quotes by Jay Samit - Page 3

Get your product into users' hands as quickly as possible and incorporate the crowd's feedback to iterate. Your customers will provide the data you need to chart the best course for your company and bury any competitor that goes it alone.
Jay Samit /
Data
Feedback
Users
Bury
Chart
Incorporate
Copy Quote
I'd been on the Internet since the 1970s when it was just for nerds. I started saying, 'Who would benefit from this?' I started imagining a world where young people could have their own email address, back in the days of family AOL accounts.
Jay Samit /
Accounts
Internet
Family World People
Address
Aol
Benefit
Imagining
Nerds
Saying
Young People
Copy Quote
To effectively reach consumers in the new social environment, brand managers need to learn how to translate their budgets into the digital realm, which also means understanding the advantages that digital can provide over television advertising.
Jay Samit /
Budgets
Digital
Environment
Managers
Translate
Understanding
Advantages
Brand
Effectively
Provide
Reach
Realm
Copy Quote
For a startup to overcome obstacles and succeed, it must foster limitless thinking. By hiring students into their first career job, you get to set their framework for how a company functions and instill them with your values for your company's culture.
Jay Samit /
Hiring
Instill
Limitless
Obstacles
Succeed
Overcome
Foster
Functions
Startup
Copy Quote
The greatest challenge to most innovation centers around the world is many nations' punitive attitudes towards failure. In most of the world, if your first business fails, no one will work with you again. But, trial and error is the genesis of innovation.
Jay Samit /
Genesis
Innovation
Trial And Error
Attitudes
Centers
Error
Fails
Greatest Challenge
Punitive
Trial
Copy Quote
You need to begin to network with angels and VCs while you are still ideating. It is easier to ask someone you know for funding than a stranger. Build your financial network by attending as many industry functions and reaching out for advice from experts online.
Jay Samit /
Advice
Attending
Easier
Experts
Financial
Online
Reaching
Stranger
Begin
Angels
Functions
Network
Copy Quote
Distributers don't need massive amounts of square feet to stock digital products. Retailers don't need brick-and-mortar stores to sell them. The entire supply chain for these select items has been permanently dematerialized. The marketplace has been blown to bits.
Jay Samit /
Bits
Digital
Items
Marketplace
Massive
Select
Supply Chain
Blown
Chain
Permanently
Square
Stock
Supply
Copy Quote
Too many startups get in the habit of continually raising more and more money, which has the deleterious effect of both pushing out profitability and limiting your exit options. The less rounds of capital you need to raise, the more of your company you get to own.
Jay Samit /
Exit
Habit
Profitability
Pushing
Rounds
Capital
Continually
Limiting
More And More
Options
Startups
Copy Quote
Use your development time to brief analysts and industry press. Use these influencers as your eyes and ears to let you know what else is being developed by competitors so that you can be the first to market, and don't make the mistake of launching an also-ran product.
Jay Samit /
Competitors
Ears
Launching
Time Eyes Your
Be The First
Brief
Developed
Copy Quote
My job is to hire the best and brightest employees and empower them to do their best work. As a manager, I am not a mind reader nor an expert at every job function. Therefore, it is incumbent on all hires to feel empowered to tell me what resources they need to do their job.
Jay Samit /
Best Work
Function
Best Work I Am
Best Work Mind
Brightest
Employees
Hire
Incumbent
Manager
Copy Quote
There is a huge difference between failing and failure. Failing is trying something that you learn doesn't work. Failure is throwing in the towel and giving up. True success comes from failing repeatedly and as quickly as possible, before your cash or your willpower runs out.
Jay Samit /
Failure
Cash
Failing
Giving
Giving Up
Huge
Throwing
True Success
Willpower
Success Work Failure
Success Work Your
True
Before
Between
Possible
Difference
Huge Difference
Learn
Quickly
Repeatedly
Runs
Towel
Copy Quote
Targeted marketing delivers a lower customer acquisition cost and gets you to profitable growth faster. The goal is to quickly identify the costs associated with acquiring your most profitable segment of customers and the incremental value - if any - of going beyond your core.
Jay Samit /
Core
Cost
Faster
Growth
Marketing
Profitable
Acquiring
Associated
Beyond
Customer
Gets
Identify
Incremental
Lower
Quickly
Segment
Targeted
Value
Copy Quote
In order to protect against being disrupted, startups also need to recruit employees that are committed to life-long learning. The skills that made your team members valuable may not be the skills needed to take your company to the next level or to compete in emerging markets.
Jay Samit /
Committed
Emerging
Next Level
Recruit
Skills
Valuable
Compete
Disrupted
Life Long
Startups
Copy Quote
All too often, new hires have a different expectation of their job and responsibilities than the organization does. Any miscommunication during the recruiting process needs to be cleared up ASAP. Whenever possible, give new employees a written plan of objectives and responsibilities.
Jay Samit /
Objectives
Cleared
Employees
Expectation
Recruiting
Responsibilities
Copy Quote
On average, it takes as much as $100 million in paid media for a brand to be a household name in America. Marketing partnerships are the best form of off-balance sheet financing one can ever find. Smart startups use this technique to scale their companies and build their brand equity.
Jay Samit /
Average
Equity
Financing
Marketing
Technique
Scale
Brand
Household Name
Partnerships
Sheet
Startups
Copy Quote
Instead of focusing the traditional planning cycles where companies benchmark their businesses against existing competition, teams need to be developed to foster internal change and disruption. Self-disruption is akin to undergoing major surgery, but you are the one holding the scalpel.
Jay Samit /
Cycles
Disruption
Planning
Surgery
Traditional
Benchmark
Businesses
Companies
Developed
Existing
Focusing
Foster
Holding
Major
Internal
Scalpel
Teams
Undergoing
Copy Quote
For those that fear being taken advantage of by people working from home or on flexible schedules, I can say my experience is quite the opposite. Employees are so appreciative of these accommodations that they outperform their coworkers and are less likely to be poached by the competition.
Jay Samit /
Advantage
Appreciative
Flexible
Schedules
Opposite
Coworkers
Employees
Copy Quote
To thrive, all businesses must focus on the art of self-disruption. Rather than wait for the competition to steal your business, every founder and employee needs to be willing to cannibalize their existing revenue streams in order to create new ones. All disruption starts with introspection.
Jay Samit /
Business
Competition
Disruption
Employee
Focus
Introspection
Needs
Order
Revenue
Streams
Thrive
Willing
Businesses
Create
Existing
Founder
Wait
New Ones
Rather
Starts
Steal
Copy Quote
Creating something that builds lasting value and changes the lives of millions of people requires forging a team that will work hard to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, stand up to the pressures of fame and fortune, and stay true to the original vision long after others stop believing.
Jay Samit /
Forging
Fortune
Insurmountable
Lasting
Obstacles
Stay True
Overcome
Believing
Builds
Fame And Fortune
Millions Of People
Pressures
Requires
Seemingly
Stand Up
Work Hard
Copy Quote
Valuations are actually quite simple to grasp. A company is only worth what two acquirers are willing to pay for it. Don't you just need to find that one buyer? If there is only one potential company interested in buying your startup, chances are you won't be hearing the word 'billion' in the offer.
Jay Samit /
Buying
Hearing
Billion
Buyer
Chances
Grasp
Startup
Copy Quote
Every product you have ever loved was a compromise from the ideal vision of its creators to the realities of shipping on time, on budget, and on price point. Anyone who has ever manufactured a physical product that had to be on the shelves for Christmas shopping knows how painful these choices can be.
Jay Samit /
Christmas
Choices
Compromise
Painful
Shelves
Shopping
Vision
Budget
Loved
Creators
Ideal
Physical
Price
Product
Realities
Copy Quote
Most startup entrepreneurs unnecessarily spend half their time and give up half their equity in search of funding from angel investors and venture capitalists. Tens of millions of dollars are available to them for free from partners who not only don't want their equity, they don't even want to be paid back.
Jay Samit /
Angel
Available
Dollars
Funding
Investors
Partners
Venture
Capitalists
Entrepreneurs
Millions Of Dollars
Search
Startup
Tens
Tens Of Millions
Unnecessarily
Copy Quote
Every time a twenty-something CEO turns down a multibillion-dollar offer for a company that has little or no revenues, it hits a raw nerve in me. Unlike most professionals, I am not shocked by the seemingly bizarre behavior of those founders who pursue their vision beyond all rational thought or monetary reward.
Jay Samit /
Bizarre
Ceo
Founders
Monetary
Pursue
Rational
Shocked
Turns
Vision
Time I Am Me
Beyond
Every Time
Unlike
Hits
Nerve
Professionals
Revenues
Reward
Seemingly
Copy Quote
I tell people: walk around for one month and write down three problems in your life every day. At first it's easy - you got stuck in traffic, you missed your alarm - but by the end of the month you're looking really hard to get your 90 problems. The most common things on your list are now billion-dollar businesses.
Jay Samit /
Common
Common Things
Stuck
Traffic
Life Walk Your
Alarm
Month
Businesses
Walk
List
Missed
Problems
Copy Quote
Networking is all about connecting with people. But then again, isn't that what life is about? The more time you can find to get out of the office and build true friendships, the farther your startup will go. Entrepreneurs need to remember to spend as much time working on their business as they do in their business.
Jay Samit /
Connecting
Networking
Office
Life Time Business
Entrepreneurs
Farther
Friendships
Startup
Copy Quote
From the very first inkling of a concept, founders need to gather a target group of five to ten potential users to begin the feedback loop. We all think we know how the market will react to new ideas, but actual users live with the pros and cons of the existing market conditions every day. They are the market experts.
Jay Samit /
Experts
Feedback
Founders
New Ideas
Target
Ten
Users
Day New Every Day
Begin
Actual
Concept
Cons
Existing
Gather
Group
Loop
Market
Pros
React
Copy Quote
The very first thing I tell every intern on the first day is that their internship exists solely on their resume. As far as I am concerned, they are a full-time member of my team. For all the negative stereotypes about millennials, you would be astounded by how hard they work when they believe their contribution matters.
Jay Samit /
Astounded
Concerned
Contribution
Millennials
Negative
Team
As Far As
Work Believe I Am
Work Believe Day
Exists
Matters
Far
First Thing
Full-Time
Intern
Member
Resume
Solely
Stereotypes
Tell
Copy Quote
Onboarding starts with satisfying the most basic of Maslow's psychological needs: belonging. New hires shouldn't arrive to an empty cube and be forced to forage through corridors searching for a computer and the bare necessities of office life. A new hire isn't a surprise visitor from out of town. Plan for their arrival.
Jay Samit /
Belonging
Computer
Empty
Needs
Office
Psychological
Satisfying
Surprise
Arrival
Bare
Basic
Corridor
Cube
Forced
Hire
Necessities
Plan
Town
Searching
Visitor
Copy Quote
State funds, private equity, venture capital, and institutional lending all have their role in the lifecycle of a high tech startup, but angel capital is crucial for first-time entrepreneurs. Angel investors provide more than just cash; they bring years of expertise as both founders of businesses and as seasoned investors.
Jay Samit /
Angel
Cash
Crucial
Expertise
Founders
Investors
Lending
Venture
Venture Capital
Capital
Entrepreneurs
Funds
Institutional
Tech
Seasoned
Startup
Copy Quote
Every new startup business creates new opportunities. It doesn't matter whether you have a new app for college students or a home medical device for senior citizens; there are other multibillion noncompetitive corporations that are spending millions of dollars trying to market their goods and services to your same audience.
Jay Samit /
Citizens
College Students
Corporations
Dollars
Goods
Millions
Senior
Spending
App
Creates
Device
Market
Millions Of Dollars
New Opportunities
Opportunities
Senior Citizens
Services
Startup
Copy Quote
There is no better feeling than doing well while you are doing good. If you really want to meet the nicest, most caring people in your field, get involved with charity work. The thankless hours that go into planning charity dinners, running a carnival, and gathering donations for silent auctions are noticed and appreciated.
Jay Samit /
Running
Work
Appreciated
Caring
Charity
Charity Work
Doing Good
Gathering
Hours
Involved
Planning
Silent
Thankless
Most
Work Good Your
Work Good Better
Go
Good Your Caring
Get
Doing
Carnival
Dinners
Donations
Nicest
Feeling
Field
Meet
Noticed
Well
While
Copy Quote
Betting all your funds on the belief that you know what consumers want and are willing to pay for is like jumping into a river to test its depth - you'll need a lot of luck to stay afloat. To have a truly successful product launch, the conversations with your customers must start long before you write your first line of code.
Jay Samit /
Belief
Betting
Code
Consumers
Customers
Depth
Jumping
Luck
Pay
Successful
Willing
Afloat
Stay
Funds
Line
Product
River
Start
Test
Truly
Copy Quote
Every company, regardless of size, is competing for the same pool of talent, which is why top recruiters can even command equity for finding key hires. Internships give startups a chance to hire the best and brightest from our universities at a fraction of the cost that these same minds will command when they receive their degrees.
Jay Samit /
Command
Competing
Degrees
Equity
Pool
Size
Brightest
Fraction
Hire
Receive
Regardless
Startups
Universities
Copy Quote
As a serial investor who has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for startups, I know that the business plans coming out of incubators tend to be vetted and more thoroughly validated. The incubator's input into your business plan will make you look far more polished and experienced - even if you have never run a business before.
Jay Samit /
Dollars
Input
Millions
Plans
Polished
Raised
Business Your Look
Experienced
Hundreds
Incubator
Investor
Millions Of Dollars
Plan
Startups
Tend
Thoroughly
Validated
Copy Quote
Entrepreneurs always begin the journey believing that they have the next big idea. They dream of the fame and fortune that awaits them if only they had the funding to pursue it. But the reality is that as the product is built and shared with customers, flaws in their concept are discovered that - if not overcome - will kill the business.
Jay Samit /
Customers
Flaws
Funding
Pursue
Overcome
Awaits
Believing
Big Idea
Concept
Discovered
Entrepreneurs
Fame And Fortune
Shared
Copy Quote
Microsoft first entered the living room with Ultimate TV way back in 2000 - a year before Apple's first iPod was announced. Ultimate TV offered consumers a DVR and supporting online services, including 14 days of programming and the ability to record 35 hours of programming. Microsoft's reach was then thwarted when Echostar acquired DIRECTV.
Jay Samit /
Living Room
Microsoft
Programming
Ultimate
Acquired
Announced
Apple
Entered
Offered
Services
Supporting
Thwarted
Copy Quote
Many first-time founders fail to understand the difference between the potential of the Total Addressable Market (TAM) and the very finite subsection they can hope to capture. No company ever captures the entire market they pioneer. Innovation doesn't happen in a vacuum, and others will jump in from the moment you've identified the potential.
Jay Samit /
Capture
Finite
Founders
Innovation
Total
Entire
Fail
Identified
Jump
Market
Pioneer
Vacuum
Copy Quote
YouTube began as a failed video-dating site. Twitter was a failed music service. In each case, the founders continued to try new concepts when their big ideas failed. They often worked around the clock to try to overcome their failure before all their capital was spent. Speed to fail gives a startup more runway to pivot and ultimately succeed.
Jay Samit /
Big Ideas
Clock
Concepts
Founders
Runway
Site
Speed
Succeed
Youtube
Overcome
Capital
Failed
Startup
Copy Quote
Some incubators, like Y Combinator and TechStars, were started by successful entrepreneurs wishing to help the next generation learn from their experiences. Other programs, such as Viterbi Startup Garage and Austin Technology Incubator, were created by universities to help young entrepreneurs bridge the knowledge gap from student to funded company.
Jay Samit /
Austin
Next Generation
Bridge
Student
Entrepreneurs
Gap
Incubator
Programs
Startup
Universities
Wishing
Copy Quote

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Jay Samit Quotes - Page 3

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