Let’s Get Started ‘Literally’ with Young Entrepreneurs Quotes
- “I find it best to dive right in and learn the hard way.” – Pete Cashmore, Mashable
- “If you do the things that are easier first, then you can actually make a lot of progress.” – Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook
- “A hard thing is done by figuring out how to start.” – Rand Fishkin, SEOmoz
- “To any entrepreneur: if you want to do it, do it now. If you don’t, you’re going to regret it.” – Catherine Cook, MyYearbook
- “If you’ve got an idea, start today. There’s no better time than now to get going. That doesn’t mean quit your job and jump into your idea 100% from day one, but there’s always small progress that can be made to start the movement.” – Kevin Systrom, Instagram
- “The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing.” – Walt Disney, co-founder, Disney
- “Any time is a good time to start a company.” – Ron Conway, noted start-up investor, founder of SV Angel
- “Chase the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you.” – Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO
- “What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.” –Dave Thomas, Founder, Wendy’s
The “Big” Idea
- “I don’t have big ideas. I sometimes have small ideas, which seem to work out.” – Matt Mullenweg, WordPress
- “I suffer from the delusion that every product of my imagination is not only possible, but always on the cusp of becoming real.” – Sean Parker, Napster
- “Choose something unique.” – Angelo Sotiro, DeviantART
- “People tend to think that in order to start a new business they have to come up with something new and dazzling, but that’s a myth – and it’s often propagated by venture capitalists.” – Gurbaksh Chahal, RadiumOne
- “If Google teaches you anything, it’s that small ideas can be big.” – Ben Silbermann, Pinterest
Being a Young Entrepreneur
- “I think I was very naïve early on, but that also meant I didn’t know what couldn’t be done.” – Matt Mickiewicz, 99 Designs
- “It’s not about how many years of experience you have. It’s about the quality of your years of experience.” – Jacob Cass, Logo of the Day
- “The earlier you start, the more time you have to mess up.” – Emil Motycka, Motycka Enterprises
- “There’s no committee that says, ‘This is the type of person who can change the world – and you can’t.’ Realizing that anyone can do it is the first step. The next step is figuring out how you’re going to do it.” – Adora Svitak, Flying Fingers
Risks
- “If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not making decisions.” – Catherine Cook, MyYearbook
- “If you start with nothing and end up with nothing, there’s nothing lost.” – Michael Dunlop, Income Diary
- “The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” – Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook
- “Don’t make decisions based on fear.” – Jake Nickell, Threadless
Quotes About Failure
- “I’ve also learned that the biggest lessons came from my biggest mistakes.” – Gurbaksh Chahal, RadiumOne
- “The hardest part about being an entrepreneur is that you’ll fail ten times for every success.” – Adam Horwitz, Mobile Monopoly
- “Running a start-up is like eating glass. You just start to like the taste of your own blood.” – Sean Parker, Napster
Quotes About Making Money
- “I think not focusing on money makes you sane because in the long run it can probably drive you crazy.” – Kevin Systrom, Instagram
- “The companies that I really admire the most are the ones that have a deep visceral understanding of why people use their service, and they figure out ways of making money that are completely consistent with how people are feeling and what they are doing at the time.” – Ben Silbermann, Pinterest
- “Great products sell themselves.” Kevin Systrom, Instagram
- “To be successful online, you have to be nimble and evolve where the opportunities are. You have to layer revenue streams.” – Angelo Sotiro, DeviantART
- “There are a lot of rich people in the world. There are very few people who have the privilege of getting to invent things that billions of people use.” David Karp, Tumblr
Following Your Passion
- “Every single person I know who is successful at what they do is successful because they love doing it.” – Joe Penna, Mystery Guitar Man
- “Anything can be done, as long as you truly believe it.” – Ashley Qualls, WhateverLife
- “We led with our conviction rather than rational, because rational said it was impossible.” – Daniel Ek, Spotify
- “Find something you love and do it better than everyone else.” – Gurbaksh Chahal, RadiumOne
Practical Advice
- “My number one piece of advice is: you should learn how to program.” – Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook
- “If you make the Internet, live on the internet.” – Matthew Mullenweg, WordPress
- “A poor logo doesn’t mean a business will fail, and a good logo doesn’t mean it will succeed – it just helps. Ultimately a good logo is something that people recognize instantly and relate to.” – Matt Mickiewicz, 99 Designs
- “SEO is a race, not a sprint.” – Neil Patel, Quick Sprout
- “Don’t take too much advice. It’s just that most people who have a lot of advice to give—there are a few people who are exceptions, and they have a lot of data in front of them—most people generalize whatever they did and say that’s the strategy that made it work.” – Ben Silbermann, Pinterest
- “Over-deliver every time.” – Alex Maroko, Game Speed Insider
Quotes from World Renowned Entrepreneurs
Mistakes and Challenges
- “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan, NBA legendary basketball MVP
- “Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” – Mary Kay Ash, Mary Kay Cosmetics founder
- “Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be right once.” – Drew Houston, Dropbox co-founder and CEO
- “I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying.” – Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO
- “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” – Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder and venture capitalist
- “Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes playing a poor hand well.” – Jack London, author
- “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill, former British prime minister
- “You shouldn’t focus on why you can’t do something, which is what most people do. You should focus on why perhaps you can, and be one of the exceptions.” – Steve Case, AOL co-founder and CEO
Quotes about Running a Business
- “Always deliver more than expected.” – Larry Page, Co-Founder, Google
- “Trust your instincts.” –Estée Lauder, Founder, Estée Lauder
- “Wonder what your customer really wants? Ask. Don’t tell.” – Lisa Stone, BlogHer co-founder and CEO
- “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing and falling over.” –Richard Branson, Virgin Group founder
- “Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead.” – Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa
- “Don’t be cocky. Don’t be flashy. There’s always someone better than you.” – Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO
- “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t — you’re right.” – Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company founder
- “Act enthusiastic and you will be enthusiastic.” – Dale Carnegie, author and motivational speaker
- “Even if you don’t have the perfect idea to begin with, you can likely adapt.” –Victoria Ransom, Wildfire Interactive co-founder
- “High expectations are the key to everything.” – Sam Walton, Walmart founder
- “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth, baseball legend
- “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” – Bill Gates, Microsoft founder and former CEO
- “In between goals is a thing called life, that has to be lived and enjoyed.” – Sid Caesar, entertainer
Want more inspiration? Read these profiles of young entrepreneurs.
Want more words of wisdom? Read these Q&As with entrepreneurs and mentors.
