In 2007, there weren't any other accelerators, at least that I was aware of. We

were almost the prototypical Y Combinator founders: We were highly technical but had never done a startup before. We also didn't know anyone in the Valley - investors, other entrepreneurs, potential hires. YC seemed like a great way to bootstrap that network.
Patrick Collison

I had two passions growing up - one was music, one was technology. I tried to play in a band for a while, but I was never talented enough to make it. And I started companies. One day came along and I decided to combine the two - and there was Spotify.
Daniel Ek

I remember wishing there was snow in L.A. And how jealous we used to get of those Christmas specials with kids playing in the snow.
Ice Cube

Political Correctness doesn't change us, it shuts us up.
Glenn Beck

A young woman has young claws, well sharpened. If she has character, that is. And if she hasn't so much the worse for you.
Henri Matisse

We don't mind that we still have troops in Germany, or that we still have troops in Japan or Korea. But they are not in danger, and we know that they are in danger in Iraq.
Thelma Drake

You have to find a balance with food in your life - you can't take out food. It can be absolutely terrifying.
Carre Otis

I wasn't the one managing my career back then, that was the problem - I was 14 years old.
Leif Garrett

The life of man is of no greater importance to the universe than that of an oyster.
David Hume

I've been writing poems and stories since I was about 13.
Kevin Powers

Gemeoss

You can make people feel valued or cared for by design alone. It's not purely

about money. It's about how we choose to value human experience.Thomas Heatherwick I do a big roast of Trump during my set now - which I clearly expanded on - because there's so much to make fun of him about now.Lisa Lampanelli A vaccine that prevented tuberculosis would merit a Nobel Prize, but it's just very difficult to develop.Tom Frieden I go through the same kind of situations as other people. I have to give that to people, because people have this facade, this mirage, this mirror about me.Tory Lanez The wild thing is that when I'm in the band, I can control my destiny with four other guys. As a composer sitting in the audience, you can throw good vibes at everybody, but you can't control anybody's destiny, so it's really unsettling.David Bryan I'm an actor, and I don't judge my parts.Swara Bhaskar As a competitor, you want to be out there in the fire with your teammates.Brock Osweiler We wish to be treated 'not as ordi...

My parents moved to American Samoa when I was three or four years old. My

dad was principal of a high school there. It was idyllic for a kid. I had a whole island for a backyard. I lived there until I was eight years old and we moved to Santa Barbara. Eric Stoltz If you accept the belief that baptism incorporates us in the mystical body of Christ, into the divine DNA, then you might say that the Holy Spirit is present in each of us, and thus we have the capacity for the fullness of redemption, of transformation. Thomas Keating My first name, Benjamin, dates back a thousand years earlier to Benjamin - Binyamin - the son of Jacob, who was also known as Israel. Jacob and his 12 sons roamed these same hills of Judea and Sumeria 4,000 years ago, and there's been a continuous Jewish presence in the land ever since. Benjamin Netanyahu I was cast in 'Thor' and I'm cast as a Nordic god. If you know anything about the Nords, they don't look like me but there you go. I think that's a sign of the times for the future. I think we will see...

Chris Hemsworth is like Christopher Reeve in that he can do two things:

he can wear a big red cape without a shred of self-consciousness. But he's also funny as hell, and he's so sweet. So with all the fish-out-of-water stuff, he's so funny. So he does almost two jobs in a way. Tom Hiddleston I would say that, in the future, the book will be reserved for things that function best as a book. So, if I need a textbook that's going to be out of date because of new technological inventions, you're better off having it where you can download the supplements or the update. Art Spiegelman Although I may find the type of programming seen during the 2004 Super Bowl and the 2003 Golden Globe Awards disgusting and disturbing, we must always work hard to defend the cherished freedoms so clearly outlined in our Constitution, including a healthy and free press. Mike Rogers I think once you're in the public eye, whether you're a boss, a teacher or whatever you do, that you're automatically in the position of role model. You have pe...

I have ballet class every other day for two hours. And for 'Six Feet Under',

last week there was a sequence where I had to do a whole choreographed dance number, so I had four hours of dance practice every day. Michelle Trachtenberg Salman Rushdie, indeed any writer who abuses the prophet or indeed any prophet under Islamic law, the sentence for that is actually death. Cat Stevens I have always liked shows that have laughter in them. David Walliams People working in the private sector should try to save money. There remains the possibility that it may someday be valuable again. Norman Ralph Augustine The Roman Catholics must know as well as we do that 'Popery' when encouraged by government has always been dangerous to the liberties of the people. Lord George Gordon

I think every athlete has their window of opportunity, and you just have to jump

on it. You never know when it can end. So I'm just trying to live large while I have the opportunity. Hope Solo With the first act of cruelty committed in the name of revolution, with the first murder, with the first purge and execution, we have lost the revolution. Kate Millett I had to find a diet that would kick me back into dating shape, because I know that I can't date at size 8. I have to date at size 2. And it's just a fact of nature. Go get your injections and your chemical peels. You gotta look good to attract a man. Patti Stanger What's a soup kitchen? Paris Hilton Islam is a dangerous religion. Michel Houellebecq Who hears me, who understands me, becomes mine, a possession for all time. Ralph Waldo Emerson Quality is easy to talk but hard to make. Terry Gou Nothing matures a military force quicker than actual military operations. Duncan Hunter TV was my hobby. I loved the glitz. I loved how hot everybody was. Andy Cohen I think the ...

I read everything, but generally more fact than fiction - especially autobiographies and

biographies. I've read 'Long Walk to Freedom' by Nelson Mandela at least twice on holiday. Every time, I'm totally awed by his vision, strength and forgiveness. I feel honoured to have got to know him and his wonderful wife Graca over the years. Richard Branson There are no new facts about the Kennedys, only new attitudes, a literature that, like the automobile industry, puts new bodies on old chassis. John Gregory Dunne Artists are supposed to stay hungry. Michael Connelly I'm a purple girl! Justine Skye Nobody ever said that Hillary's nomination would be unopposed or would be something that was foreordained. David Brock Parishes must be the safest places for a child to be. Blase J. Cupich I'm not sure what 'cheeky' means. I hear it used so much and in so many different ways, I can't identify the real meaning of it. Taylor Lautner Wealth is just consistency... I don't want to be rich. I want to be wealthy. Quavo In 20th-century poetry, Robe...

I remember when I was in third grade, I was in a classroom, and the teacher said,

'What do you want to do when you get older?' We were going around the room. I said, 'I want to be a professional basketball player.' She's like, 'That's not realistic.' I thought to myself, 'OK, watch.' Zach LaVine Professional wrestling is my first love, and I will continue to do that, but if I get a good offer for a film or a show, I would love to take it up. Sangram Singh I had this dream in my head of, if I got hired by 'SNL, what that moment would be like. And I dreamed that I would, like, collapse on the sidewalk and cry to the heavens. I got this call, and it didn't happen naturally. But I did it anyway because I wanted to have that moment. So I did collapse. Kate McKinnon It's funny: I don't feel like I have any particular privileged feeling for the Fifties. Todd Haynes Stock market goes up or down, and you can't adjust your portfolio based on the whims of the market, so you have to have a strategy in a position and s...

I went to meet Joe Johnston, the director, and he's charming. I've been very lucky.

Most of the directors I've worked with are charming. But Joe's a particularly charming man, and he showed me lots of designs and, rather memorably, welcomed me to the Marvel Universe. Toby Jones The iambic line, with its characteristic forward movement from short to long, or light to heavy, or unstressed to stressed, is the quintessential measure of English verse. James Fenton I turned down many chances to be on TV before 'Pop Idol' because I really wasn't interested in being famous. I didn't need it and didn't want it. Simon Cowell My argument would be that I don't think there is much that's genuinely political art that is good art. Thom Yorke I have a tendency to run after people who are completely unattainable and uninterested and make a complete fool of myself. Martha Wainwright Never try to be witty with U.S. airport officials. It's always lost on them and you'll find yourself being put back on the plane. Johnny Vegas E...

It's Toby Jones playing Alfred Hitchcock, not Alfred Hitchcock. We all felt that

his silhouette was crucial, so his nose and lips were crucial as well. We had to build it out a bit to get the silhouette. But, with my nose being so small within the proportion of my face, the first nose was too big. I felt like a nose on parade. Toby Jones I feel less alone when I read the books of Ratzinger. Oriana Fallaci I never was obsessive about anything I watched when I was a kid, except maybe 'The A-Team' and 'Airwolf'... And I loved 'Knight Rider' and then later 'Baywatch.' Benedict Cumberbatch I'm like a shark. I've got to be constantly moving. Kenny Chesney For behaviorist films, that's been much more useful - the change of technology - but for my kind of films, doing them on film is much better, because it's more beautiful. Michael Apted Even when I was in my 20s and at my most beautiful, I was never obsessed with my looks. I didn't dye my hair or wear make-up. Koo Stark A lot of times when you keep it ...

Many novice writers try to avoid using 'said' by substituting synonyms: 'he uttered,' 'she murmured,'

'he questioned.' It's true that any word repeated too often becomes monotonous, but substitutions for 'said' can be worse than its repetition. Nancy Kress Daft Punk's 'One More Time' remains one of my favorite 'getting ready to go out tonight' songs. Aslaug Magnusdottir Stand-up is still my favorite, but the podcast is a close second. It's so fun, and it's given me the opportunity to have three-hour conversations with people I wouldn't have otherwise been able to talk to. When I talked to Maynard Keenan from Tool, I almost couldn't believe it was happening. Joe Rogan The truth is I'm not really interested in travel writing as it's generally conceived, and even less so in female travel writing. Robyn Davidson When you have to work with and exist amongst cynical, burned-out personnel on a set, it doesn't matter what you're shooting or how much you're being paid - it's not worth it. Henry Rollins ...