
Diane Greene’s Advice for Founders [video] - craigcannon
https://blog.ycombinator.com/diane-greenes-advice-for-founders/
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dvt
The post that follows is tangentially related, but maybe some might want to
discuss.

I think it's amazing how we live in an age where diversity seems to be of so
much importance in tech. We saw this happen with the ousting of Kalanick at
Uber, with the now infamous Google diversity memo, with Dave McClure, with
Justin Caldbeck, and so many others.

Now, I'm not sure if diversity is as virtuous in tech as it is in something
like medicine (I'm reminded of Bakke v. UC Regents) or politics (I'm reminded
of MLK), but to argue one way or another would take a lot of effort and
research. _Overall_ , though, I think we're heading in a good direction.

However, I think that a much more important distinction -- more than race,
gender, sexual orientation, etc. -- is wealth. As Diane Greene was speaking
about her sailing, I couldn't stop thinking about how _different_ I am than
her (and probably most of the people in that auditorium). This isn't because
I'm a guy, as I'm sure my sister would feel the same way.

See, I grew up dirt poor in a third-world country where I distinctly remember
not being able to afford food (in the first few years after Communism fell).
When we immigrated to the US, my parents had no support system. They are
college educated, but still had to work menial jobs (my mom cleaned houses
under the table, for example). Because of their hectic schedules, my sister
and I couldn't attend computer club, or math club, or sailing class -- not
that we even went to schools that had sailing class.

Now, this isn't meant to be self-serving, and my sister and I ended up alright
(both six-figure-making UCLA graduates in Los Angeles); even my parents'
Southern California house is now worth $1M+; so, for 20 years in the States, I
think that's pretty good. But it's just meant to show the amount of privilege
wealth affords you is far beyond any other kind.

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nostrademons
U.S. citizenship as well. Few Americans are aware of the degree of privilege
that being American grants them.

~~~
hkmurakami
I tell my friends abroad that US Citizenship should be worth at least $500,000
for a child.

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erikb
Honestly I think she is one of the best people on this planet. She really
means what she's saying, because she doesn't bother to play political games. I
love it.

However that is not a good business teacher. Most of us don't have rich
parents that guarantee us lifelong financial safety and a vast network of
business contacts when we leave university. That means we need to do a lot of
stuff we don't like, for instance bother with questionable business deals, and
we really need to learn to fight for life of our start-ups because these
a-holes who just want to take all you got really are more rich and powerful
than we are. In your start-up description form the part "unique selling point"
is checking for something that will let you survive when people start fighting
you despite you're not being ready to fight back.

I'd rather suggest Sun Tsu than Diane Greene as start-up advice. Keep hers for
the sunny days after you exited one or two start-ups successfully.

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theDoug
DG is a heck of a leader, and we're lucky to have her dedication to outcomes
at Google Cloud.

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breck
This is a minor point, but I like the joke she made in the beginning about her
height. Not only was it funny, but I was unaware that she was 5'1", and think
that makes her accomplishments even more impressive and says something about
her tenacity, given that 58% of F500 CEOs are over 6 feet tall.

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btian
Definitely unusual. Most female executives are above average in terms of
height too - Sheryl Sandberg, Ruth Porat, Susan Wojcicki, Marissa Mayer are
all 5'8"+

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Patrick_Devine
Don't forget Meg Whitman. She's 6'1".

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carlsborg
this is the co-founder of VMWare for those of you who don't know the name.

(watch the video, amazing woman.)

" The bottom line in sailing a boat or building a company is that you give it
your all.

You give it your all, not because you’re supposed to, not because that’s what
makes you win, but because you have respect for your goal and you enjoy the
process.

As a company founder, enjoy building things. Enjoy creating value. And the
commitment that comes from loving what you do is what will nourish you. It
will satisfy you and will make you unafraid of failure. You may lose this
race, or that one, but sailing ahead with everything you have will still be a
pleasure.

You may make a fortune, but the fortune will be incidental. If your goals are
worthy, it’s the process that will count, and that understanding will be your
greatest source of strength no matter what the adversity.

"

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SkyMarshal
This is excellent. One of my thoughts while reading it was, it really would
have been interesting to see what she could have done as CEO of Yahoo:

 _> And now, finally, as Head of Google Cloud, I’m learning that it’s possible
to build an enterprise startup inside a mega company._

