Clara Shih

“When startups succeed, they do so against all odds. In the beginning, you have nothing except for your own talents and resources. By definition, everyone else is bigger, further along, and more established than you. To win, you have to swim upstream early on - and that requires hard work and long hours. There are no shortcuts.”

“Many companies talk about customer success, but how many actually put the customer first above all else, always?”

“If there can be three certain things in life, instead of two, it might be death, taxes, and data.”

“'The Facebook Era' articulated a radical vision for how social media would transform media, relationships, and influence, creating new opportunities for businesses in the process.”

“Technologies and specific vendors may come and go, but massive cultural transformations and new kinds of relationships? Those don't go away.”

“Though decisions regarding work/life balance are important and vary widely from person to person, it may not be wise in the long run to optimize for doing the bare minimum at work.”

“As entrepreneurs, we must constantly dream and have the conviction and obsession to transform our dreams into reality - to create a future that never existed before.”

“Like many of my fellow entrepreneurs, I didn't create Hearsay Social with my co-founder Steve Garrity because it would be fun and easy, but because we're at our best when faced with enormous challenges.”

“Looking back at my first job, even when I was asked to do something seemingly menial, unglamorous, or very difficult, I always went all-in. In my most trying moments with managers I liked the least, I did not give up, complain, or slack off.”

“Technology may be traditionally perceived as a male-dominated industry, but it won't always be that way. Every day we see more and more powerful women leaders boasting outstanding achievements.”

“Social media provides the modern-day version of mystery shopping and walking the halls.”

“The need for strong partners and employees persists throughout the life of a company, but it is especially important in the beginning.”

“My high school, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, showed me that anything is possible and that you're never too young to think big. At 15, I worked as a computer programmer at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or Fermilab. After graduating, I attended Stanford for a degree in economics and computer science.”

“Strong emotional connections between individuals, customers, and salespeople that trust each other will always be 10 times more powerful than the most expensive ad campaign. That's the power social media makes possible.”