Box CEO Aaron Levie is widely known for cracking jokes on Twitter. When Yahoo sued Facebook for patent infringement, for example, he tweeted, “Facebook is probably as disappointed as Yahoo that their technology may in any way be similar.”
But beyond the zingers, the 27-year-old Mercer Island High School grad also offers great insights into the entrepreneurial mindset. That’s one of the reasons we’re looking forward to having him join us for the concluding keynote conversation at Seattle 2.0 Startup Day, Sept. 22 at Bellevue’s Meydenbauer Center. (Tickets available here.)
As a preview, check out our compilation below for twelve of our favorite startup tweets by Levie over just the past few months.
And here’s a chance to attend Startup Day on GeekWire’s dime: Do these inspire any insights of your own? Send your tweet-length, startup-related quips and insights to tips@geekwire.com. We’ll pick our two favorites to win free passes to Startup Day.
A startup without competition is like a rapper without a rival. It’s just awkward.— Aaron Levie (@levie) September 11, 2012
Big companies exist to keep the world running, startups exist to show us where the world’s going.
— Aaron Levie (@levie) September 11, 2012
If your startup isn’t doing something that was technically impossible 24 months ago, go back to the drawing board.
— Aaron Levie (@levie) September 10, 2012
The next billion dollar companies will be in any market that lacks a minimally complex solution to a sufficiently large problem
— Aaron Levie (@levie) April 15, 2012
Definition of Entrepreneur: person with the irrational belief that *their* location app will be the one everyone uses after SXSW
— Aaron Levie (@levie) March 18, 2012
3 types of people you can hire: those that can ruin you, those that get the job done, and those that change the business you’re in
— Aaron Levie (@levie) March 3, 2012
Enterprise startups are like the nerdy kid in school that grows up to become Brad Pitt. And by “Brad Pitt”, I mean have a mega IPO.
— Aaron Levie (@levie) July 20, 2012
Startups are like playing chess against Bobby Fischer. The good news is he’s blindfolded. The bad news is he’s got 10X more pawns.
— Aaron Levie (@levie) July 21, 2012
What do you call someone who has strange visions of the future, is highly paranoid, and can’t hold a regular job? Entrepreneur.
— Aaron Levie (@levie) June 21, 2012
Running a startup is like having all the bad guys from Die Hard attack you, but you’re way more scrawny than Bruce Willis.
— Aaron Levie (@levie) June 27, 2012
The best companies realize they’re not in the technology business, they’re in the talent business.
— Aaron Levie (@levie) June 8, 2012
Remember: there’s an inverse relationship between great user experience and how much the user experiences.
— Aaron Levie (@levie) May 17, 2012
Send your own startup-related quips and insights to tips@geekwire.com for a chance to win a Startup Day ticket. We’re looking forward to digging into these topics and much more during our conversation with Levie at Startup Day.
Planning to make the startup plunge, or already in the deep end? Don’t miss Startup Day 2012 — Saturday Sept. 22 in Bellevue, as Box CEO Aaron Levie and other startup vets help you find your roadmap to success. Details and tickets here. Also check out highlights from the agenda.
