“Apple’s core business is something that practically everybody wants to do (and can do): making phones and tablets. Amazon’s core business is something that practically nobody wants to do (or can do): build a massive online database and offline infrastructure to transport boxes from warehouses to hundreds of millions of doorsteps. Seen in that light, Amazon’s low-margin game isn’t a weakness. It’s arguably a strength, like a treacherous castle moat discouraging even the most swashbuckling entrepreneurs from daring to encroach on their turf.”
– Derek Thompson, senior editor, The Atlantic
“Oracle’s public admission that they have a security problem with the Java browser plugin is a step forward. It’s good to finally see Oracle acknowledge the seriousness of the situation. Unfortunately, we needed this admission a year ago before their customers started losing trust in Java security. Now Oracle has a very steep credibility hill to climb.”
– Andrew Storms, director of security operations, nCircle
“In a classically West coast model, someone puts their time in at a Google or an Oracle, they become intimate with a customer problem that’s not being addressed in the current architecture so they start a company to solve that problem. The East coast has tended to take the technology-first approach. On the East coast, more often you have some technology incubated at MIT or Harvard and that technology is unleashed on the world in search of a customer base.”
– Mike Troiano, chief marketing officer, Actifio
“Stop apologizing. Don’t be afraid to sell your idea with the enthusiasm of your full faith and commitment. Too often women apologize for their concepts while pitching them to potential investors and clients. Ambivalence about your business and its true potential will undermine your ability to successfully launch and grow it.”
– Leslie Smith, President and CEO, TechTown Detroit