Quotes from Aileen Lee

Immigrants play a huge role in the founding and value creation of today's tech companies. We wonder how much more value could be created if it were easier to get a work visa.

What's the word to describe the thing that all of us are trying to do, which is to found or work for or invest in a company that is the winner of all winners?

I think there are many things that we can do today to make it a better work environment that is more supportive and encouraging of diversity.

I appreciate the sacrifices my dad made. I went to a great public high school.

I really have become very interested at working with and helping entrepreneurs at the early stages of their growth.

I work with tiny companies, so I don't really live in unicorn world, to be honest.

I think, from a woman's perspective, that my interest as an investor and the way that I relate to entrepreneurs is a little bit different.

Relative to all the start-ups out there, getting a valuation of $1 billion is rarely accomplished.

Some companies are worth paying for up front.

Consider the social proof of a line of people standing behind a velvet rope, waiting to get into a club. The line makes most people walking by want to find out what's worth the wait. The digital equivalent of the velvet rope helped build viral growth for initially invite-only launches like Gmail, Gilt Groupe, Spotify, and Turntable.fm.

When I was growing up, I had lots of smart classmates that were girls, but none of us were really pushed into math or computers or anything like that. Girls took AP history and AP English and AP European history. And boys took calculus and physics.

I grew up in New Jersey and played sports and rode my bike around. It was a really nice time - kids didn't have cellphones then - and you knew everyone in the town.

When companies are private, founders can share more about their future dreams with investors; report less; and the shares are illiquid, constraining short-term changes in valuation.

The role and importance of females in companies can make a big difference.

What is social proof? Put simply, it's the positive influence created when someone finds out that others are doing something. It's also known as informational social influence.

Especially when it comes to social and shopping, women rule the Internet.

I played with different words like 'home run,' 'megahit,' and they just all sounded kind of 'blah.' So I put in 'unicorn' because they are - these are very rare companies in the sense that there are thousands of startups in tech every year, and only a handful will wind up becoming a unicorn company. They're really rare.

If a firm hasn't hired a single female partner in its history, I don't think it will finally happen by accident.

In the future, the best retail sites will know you much better and show you things that are much more relevant.

I did not grow up thinking that I wanted to be an engineer. I had read some articles about girls becoming increasingly scientifically illiterate and that girls lacked confidence in their capabilities when it came to quantitative skills. And I just thought that was kind of wrong.

You can't get into the trap of paying for customer acquisition.

Starbucks did this magical thing where it took a product that people didn't really care that much about and made it this treat. It makes you feel better about your day and gives you a chance to reflect, makes you feel a little special.

I have a tremendous network of friends and colleagues at other firms.

There's an opportunity to make your board - and your company - smarter by adding diversity, especially of gender.