I didn't understand the culture and what Starbucks was really about. It wasn't a coffee shop. It was really a way of life... we suffer from thinking that since we have it in New York, or it won't work in New York, that it won't work some other place. That's a discipline we keep trying to improve.

Like many of my friends and associates, I am a life-long Democrat. We have a rock-solid commitment to supporting the political party that we so strongly believe offers the most promising vision of America: one that recognizes the proper role of government, the importance of compassion, and the value of diversity.

In my 40-plus years as a venture capitalist, I have come to appreciate the certainty a healthy economy provides for businesses both large and small.

I was very early on in taking venture capital abroad: to Europe first, then Asia.

My philosophy, in a nutshell, is to wipe out the greatest amount of risk with the least amount of money.

I think CSR, corporate social responsibility, is something that is becoming front and center.

The Enterprise Value Tax is unprecedented, punitive, and has no justification in the tax code.

We've done education nonprofit through our history, and maybe the profit motive will be helpful.

It's tough, no matter how good your technology is, to police every single comment coming up.

The advent of interactive communications has created an inflection point where it's economical to provide education differently than in the past.