Ben Kaufman

CEO and founder: Quirky

"Don’t congratulate people for raising money. That was never the goal. The goal is building a successful and meaningful business. When people raise money, instead of congratulating them, wish them luck. Their work is just getting started."

Glen Coates

CEO and founder: Handshake

"When you don't have any money, you get really good at making money. When you have a lot of money, you get really good at spending money."

Alexis Tryon

Co-founder: Artiscle

“You want to grow your business, but sometimes you have to look at your business and realize you're handicapping yourself. You get to the point where you realize you're sufficiently holding back the business by not getting funding."

Ted Rheingold

VP Social: Say Media

Founder: Dogster

"If you do not prioritize friends, family, loved ones, pets, plants, hobbies while working on a start-up, they will all decay and all you will be left with is a startup."

Chris Dixon

Partner: Founder Collective

Founder: Hunch

"If you are thinking of starting a non-transactional consumer startup, be aware that you are entering what is perhaps the most competitive sector in tech in the last decade, ten million users is the new one million users."