Fred Wilson

“The Internet is a computing platform built on top of core technology. Applied technology is what gets built on top of that: It's Web services.”

“If you are successful, you will be cloned. That's life. In fact, it's a sign that you've made it when clones of your website, mobile app, and business start cropping up.”

“Money is information, like bits.”

“The best talent in the venture industry doesn't work in large companies and won't work in large companies.”

“It's upsetting to me that you have to be a millionaire to invest in your friend's start-up.”

“Profiles aren't journalism.”

“The companies that do the best job on managing a user's privacy will be the companies that ultimately are the most successful.”

“It takes great salesmanship to convince a customer to buy something from you that isn't built or isn't finished.”

“When I see people laughing at ideas and companies we have backed, I smile. It means we are going to make a lot of money on that investment.”

“I don't like to talk about myself. I like to talk about stuff that's happening, stuff that's going to happen, and the people who are going to make it happen.”

“I believe Android will be stronger in the developing world than it is in the developed world.”

“My venture investing career has three phases, all roughly 6-8 years long. The first, at Euclid, was software to Internet. The second, at Flatiron, was Internet to bubble. And the third, at USV, has been web 2 to mobile. I have always used a new firm to denote a new investment phase for me. Throw away the old. Start with the new.”

“Skyping with your spouse works well enough, but apparently it is hard to get the kids to hang out on Skype for long.”

“Marketing is for companies who have sucky products.”

“Given New York City's cultural diversity, it has always attracted creative people.”

“When there were not very many Internet companies, the supply of Internet companies to the market was small and the appetite for them was large. Therefore, if you were in the business of creating Internet companies in 1996-98, you had a market that provided massive demand for that.”

“People already love to play casual games. But when you take a casual game and stick it inside a social network, it becomes way more exciting.”

“Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr are all 'User First, Brands Second' services. The brands are all over these services now. But for the most part, these services didn't do much to bring them. The engaged users did.”

“Customers are a great way to finance a business for many reasons. First, customer financing is typically non dilutive. They want something from you other than equity in your business. Customers also help you fit your product to the market. And customers will help debug and improve the quality of the product.”

“Not only do you have to put yourself in harms way in service of your country, you have to leave your families at home. It is a great sacrifice.”