Michael Seibel

People think they need to hire someone to do their PR, but 99 percent of PR in the early stages is stuff you can do yourself. It's just like business development - there's the warm-up intro, followup to build relationships, then add something of value.

When I think about unique insight, what I think about is here's your opportunity to tell me something that I don't know.

A lot of times when you're an investor, it's very easy to lean back and say, 'Well, people should come to me in Silicon Valley.' YC has the opposite opinion.

I think there are two challenges - and one challenge is how to diversify the workforce in the technology industry, and the other challenge is how to diversify the people who are starting companies.

Live broadcasting was something only done by the rich news organizations. So when you bring it to the masses, the public gets really excited.

Academically, I think things kicked off pretty late for me. I was kind of one of those kids who was in half honors, half regular. I was like a history/science kid, which was always weird. Around tenth grade or eleventh grade, everything started coming together.

Investors like to invest based on traction, so it's always better to raise money when you've got more traction than less.

It's very easy to do a fundraiser and spend a lot of money on food and venue and not raise any money. You really do need to twist people's arms into giving, even if they support you.

My definition of product-market fit is you are drowning in demand - your product is being used by so many customers that you cannot handle all the new people knocking at your door!

I've seen every idea. Ideas are irrelevant. You are judged on execution, and the number 1 way to prove that you can execute is by executing.

I either like reading fun war-based sci-fi, books about the lives of chefs, or dry historical non-fiction.

I had a basic plan for my life. The plan was - 20s: make money; 30s: have family; and 40s: run for something and do politics. When I retired, I wanted to be a teacher.