Quotes by Scott Weiss

About Scott Weiss:

Scott Weiss is a venture capitalist at the Silicon Valley firm Andreessen Horowitz, joining in April 2011 as the firm’s fourth general partner. A native of Sarasota, Florida, he founded and was CEO of IronPort Systems, which Cisco acquired in 2007 for $830 million. Weiss has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Florida and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

I see many founders waste too much time trying to work their networks and/or ultimately settle for mediocre but available candidates. You will definitely have to interview hard for cultural fit, but the best talent isn't cheap.

Scott Weiss

Whatever vocation you decide on, track down the best people in the world at doing it and surround yourself with them.

Scott Weiss

The best board members aren't elected by default. CEOs that set themselves up with their choice of board member - which means getting more than one term sheet and doing extensive reference checking - are better off.

Scott Weiss

At Andreessen Horowitz, we talk about the notion of being 'too hungry to eat.' That's to say, we often see startups that are so entrenched in the product that the founders forget they need muscle to grow.

Scott Weiss

As CEO, I had a standing 30-minute meeting every Monday to greet and connect with new hires.

Scott Weiss

As a decision maker, you rely on information being passed to you by the people who report to you. As the CEO, however, you cannot rely solely on this information. You also need to 'dip' down into your organization and learn directly from employees at...

Scott Weiss

Hold at least one all-hands meeting every quarter and, to underscore the startup's team concept, make sure at least one additional executive joins you in leading the meeting.

Scott Weiss

As a first-time CEO, I wasn't sure if I would scale to run IronPort long-term. But I wanted a legitimate shot at it.

Scott Weiss

Feedback for leaders is often nuanced and difficult to deliver. That said, hearing you are passive-aggressive from 10 different people described 10 different ways becomes hard to ignore.

Scott Weiss

It's important for a leader to hear about his blind spots on a regular basis so working on them is periodically top of mind.

Scott Weiss

I don't like sweating the details, and I'm pretty disorganized. To be a better leader, I need to stay on top of these shortcomings, and being reminded really helps.

Scott Weiss

One of the rookie mistakes first-time entrepreneurs often make is to be too guarded about their idea - in fact, many will actually spend their first $25,000 on patent lawyers without ever fully vetting their product.

Scott Weiss

The experts typically know where the other best-in-the-world talents are currently working and can help you recruit them in with a credible intro.

Scott Weiss

When my co-founder and I first had the idea for IronPort, an email security company, we triangulated a list of the 20 most relevant people in email - former CEOs, open source technologists, investors and thought leaders.

Scott Weiss

At the core, coaching authenticity is complicated - some might say impossible. Telling someone to be authentic sounds pretty low calorie, especially to a founder plowing through a list of product and operational goals. But it's important.

Scott Weiss

An approachable and authentic CEO is essential to fostering a high-performance, open communications culture.

Scott Weiss

I wouldn't suggest that being resourceful has anything to do with doing something illegal or unethical, but I've definitely noticed a pattern of being 'creative.'

Scott Weiss

The first day, week and month of an employee's experience carries a lasting impression.

Scott Weiss

While there's no substitute for real experience, I believe it helps to hear and share stories of resourcefulness in action - almost like case studies in school.

Scott Weiss

Nothing helps make a leader more approachable than admitting your struggles, screw-ups and behind-the-scenes thinking on hard calls. If the leader makes this a priority, the whole company will be more open and methodical learning from failure.

Scott Weiss

Author Bio

  • NameScott Weiss
  • DescriptionAmerican businessman
  • CountryUnited States Of America