In every business I had ever started, even ones that had totally failed, I had kept good relations with the investors.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I was an investor doing well and decided to be an entrepreneur.
I really did believe that the most successful investments were the ones that you could own for the long run.
My first business deal was with my mother. I invested in chickens. I sold the eggs to my mother.
Many businesses fail because the owner wasn't willing to invest and wasn't educated on the difference between spending money frivolously and investing money into the business for growth, and the risks and rewards of that cash infusion.
I have had some great successes and great failures. I think every entrepreneur has. I try to learn from all of them.
Your initial instincts about investments and people are usually correct. We do a lot of due diligence in this business and most of the time it comes out where we started.
The minute I went into business, I was a success, and I've done well ever since.
One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is not understanding the relationship they have with their investors. At times, they confuse VCs with their friends.
I'd been a great angel investor, but professional venture capital was clearly not the right thing for me.
One thing that has made us so successful is that we've never taken outside investment. That means we can concentrate on what our customers want - not what the stockholders or the VCs want.