Aileen Lee

We used to tie-dye T-shirts and sell them to classmates. We used to make egg rolls and sell them at street fairs. I worked at the mall. My parents probably spent more money on the gas driving me to different jobs than I made. ”

I think it's embarrassing for our industry that we have such low diversity across senior-level management at all of the mainstream, top-tier venture capital firms. ”

Starting a company and being a founder is really hard, and most companies fail. You really have to have a deep commitment and belief in it and be willing to see it through many ups and downs. ”

Spend the first six to 12 months building a great product or service that people love, rather than chasing investors. When the time comes to engage investors, you will be meeting them from a position of strength. This makes all the difference. ”

What is social proof? Put simply, it's the positive influence created when someone finds out that others are doing something. It's also known as informational social influence. ”

A lot of the entrepreneurs and founders have big dreams and are on a mission to build things that the world has never seen before. ”

There are so many people who try so hard and have such big dreams, and it doesn't happen for them. ”

There are not many people from top-tier venture capital firms who are focused on the seed stage. ”

Why do investors seem to care about 'billion dollar exits?' Historically, top venture funds have driven returns from their ownership in just a few companies in a given fund of many companies. ”

Having been a venture-backed CEO, and having an established background in working with consumer-focused companies, I've built a strong network of entrepreneurs and people who can help startups. ”