Niko Papademetriou

Most of them, not every single one, but most of them didn't just trip and fall into a world-changing solution.

Most of those people had lots of smart people around them.

They asked lots of questions.

They rolled their sleeves up.

They had a willingness to fail.

They learned from those around them.

They listened to their professors.

They asked questions in class.

They consumed information.

They're voracious readers.

Learning from the successes and failures of those around you

Learning by touching and feeling and modeling and failing at things is definitely the best way to build a company that can have a good chance at succeeding.

I believe.

I'm probably wrong, but I certainly believe that.

So what I would tell that young, hardworking person with a brilliant idea that is just getting a business off the ground, I'd say ask hard questions of those around you.

Don't be afraid.

If there's somebody you look up to in the industry you're trying to break into or that you're in, ask for their help.

Even if it's a competitor or a peer, who cares?

I have lots of relationships with lots of our competitors or slightly adjacent people where maybe we compete a little bit.

I have lots of relationships with those people and those companies.