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My dad is a chemical engineer, and my mom was a teacher. They were pretty serious about education, but I always thought about things a little bit differently.
Aaron Levie
Education
Teacher
Mom
Engineer
Thought
Bit
Pretty
About
Chemical
Always
Were
Little
Little Bit
Serious
Dad
Differently
Things
It's not accidental that products get worse over time; it's because companies stop paying attention to them. They stop caring as much about maintaining the same quality they did when they were just trying to fight for survival and no one would pay attention unless they had the best technology.
Aaron Levie
Time
Best
Technology
Survival
Fight
Quality
Pay
Pay Attention
Caring
Unless
Worse
Would
About
Had
No-One
Attention
Maintaining
Over
Because
Accidental
Were
Get
Trying
Did
Same
Just
Stop
Them
Much
Paying
Products
Companies
I know it sounds weird, but the food that I eat, it doesn't make a big difference, and it never has. So, I've saved a ton of money not buying a lot of alcohol, not going out to restaurants too much. So, I think it's part of our culture, and it's part of a social activity more than anything else.
Aaron Patzer
Food
Culture
Money
Too Much
Big
Think
Alcohol
Saved
Too
Else
Our
Out
Restaurants
Eat
More
More Than Anything
Never
Part
Weird
Know
Make
Sounds
Big Difference
Lot
Than
Going
Difference
Anything
Anything Else
Social
Much
Activity
Ton
Buying
When I was 8 or 9, I started using bulletin board systems, which was the precursor to the Internet, where you'd dial into... a shared system and shared computers. I've had an email address since the late '80s, when I was 8 or 9 years old, and then I got on the Internet in '93 when it was first starting out.
Aaron Patzer
You
Old
Internet
First
Late
Address
Email
System
Out
Systems
Computers
Had
Shared
Since
Got
Dial
Years
Precursor
Where
Which
Board
Then
Using
Started
Starting
After building most of Mint.com's prototype by myself, I talked to anyone and everyone I knew about Mint. It's counter-intuitive, because you might fear someone will steal your idea, but it's the only way to make connections, be sure you're on the right track, and provide a solution for an audience broader than yourself.
Aaron Patzer
Myself
You
Yourself
Fear
Right Track
Will
Building
Everyone
Way
Broader
Solution
Mint
About
Someone
Only
Steal
Knew
Idea
Most
Make
Talked
Track
Sure
Because
Prototype
Audience
Provide
Than
Anyone
After
Might
Your
Connections
Right
I've been spending quite a bit of time in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the U.K. as Mint is expanding globally, and I'm personally doing much of the research and business deals to make them happen.
Aaron Patzer
Time
Business
Research
Spending
Bit
Mint
New
Make
Globally
Deals
Doing
Been
Australia
Expanding
Canada
Quite
Quite A Bit
Happen
New Zealand
Them
Personally
Much
Zealand
I'm typically a 'just drink water' kind of guy. I was a bodybuilder in high school, so I used to - food to me was, 'there are this many grams of carbohydrates and proteins, and I need these micronutrients in order to grow and be fit,' and I ate in order to live and not live in order to eat, and I think most people are the opposite.
Aaron Patzer
Food
Me
People
Water
School
Live
Think
Kind
High
Ate
Eat
High School
Guy
Drink
Most
Proteins
Opposite
Fit
Just
Order
Used
Many
Grow
Carbohydrates
Need
The way you dress or the car you drive or what you spend is to impress other people with how, I guess, successful and rich you are. But you're not, and you shouldn't, and who gives a damn what other people think anyway. So, that mentality, I think, is very destructive.
Aaron Patzer
You
People
Car
Drive
Impress
Rich
Think
Damn
Other
Guess
Spend
Way
Destructive
Dress
Gives
Mentality
How
Very
Anyway
Successful
Who
I've actually started a number of businesses in my career. So I'm 28 currently, but when I was about 16, I started building Websites, and that's how I put myself through school. I went to Duke with a degree in electrical engineering, computer science, computer engineering, and then to Princeton.
Aaron Patzer
Myself
Science
School
Degree
Websites
Computer Science
Princeton
Building
Engineering
About
Through
Computer
Put
How
Duke
Currently
Then
Electrical
Businesses
Actually
Started
Career
Number
I actually don't invest in anything that is social, mobile, deals or ad networks simply because those are areas where there are so many players and so many other smart people in the space, I feel like I don't have a competitive advantage. So I tend to go after things that are e-commerce, like healthcare.
Aaron Patzer
People
Smart
Space
Other
Those
Networks
Area
Tend
Invest
Simply
Advantage
Feel
Smart People
Like
Because
Deals
Healthcare
Go
Mobile
Where
After
Anything
Social
Many
Actually
Things
Ad
Players
Competitive
Competitive Advantage
If you think about photo sharing sites, the mobile photo sharing and social, there's no competitive advantage, there's no obvious business model, so I never play with anything like that. I avoid it like the plague.
Aaron Patzer
You
Business
Think
Photo
About
Never
Sharing
Advantage
Like
Obvious
Mobile
Model
Sites
Anything
Plague
Social
Business Model
Avoid
Play
Competitive
Competitive Advantage
Kevin Systrom of Instagram used to work for us as a consultant in the early days of Mint. I knew him a long time ago. Maybe I could have gotten in there. But with photo sharing, I don't know if there's an obvious business model. I don't think there's a competitive, sustainable advantage.
Aaron Patzer
Work
Time
Business
Long
Long Time
Think
Photo
Mint
Consultant
Could
Instagram
Long Time Ago
Knew
Sharing
Advantage
Days
Know
Obvious
Him
Gotten
Model
Maybe
Sustainable
Us
Business Model
Used
Early
Competitive
Early Days
Kevin
In the first three years of Mint, from when it was founded to when it was sold, I can honestly say that in a sustainable way, I couldn't have worked any harder on it.
Aaron Patzer
Three
First
Honestly
Sold
Way
Say
Mint
Years
Any
Sustainable
Worked
Founded
Harder
You don't start a company because you want to be an entrepreneur or the fame and glory that comes along with it. You become an entrepreneur, and you create a company to solve a real problem. And by real problem, I mean a problem that is going to exist down the line.
Aaron Patzer
You
Problem
Entrepreneur
Become
Down
Solve
Along
Because
Glory
Real
Line
Exist
Fame
Real Problem
Going
Want
Mean
Create
Company
Start
Before Mint.com, I was a long-time user of 'Microsoft Money' and Intuit's 'Quicken.' Both were powerful tools, loaded with features and functionality around taxes, investment, budgeting - too feature-laden, in fact. They took hours to set up, forever to learn, and an hour a week to maintain.
Aaron Patzer
Money
Before
Too
Took
Tools
Both
Fact
Features
Week
Investment
Maintain
Powerful
Hour
Budgeting
Hours
Learn
Around
Were
Up
Forever
Microsoft
In Fact
Taxes
User
Functionality
Loaded
Set
I wanted to build a tool for my generation: people 20 to 40 who don't want to spend time balancing a checkbook or checking multiple financial institutions' websites. Mint does just that, giving comprehensive, quick insights into a user's finances from their computer, mobile phone and/or tablet.
Aaron Patzer
Time
Generation
People
Financial
Phone
Websites
Giving
Build
Tool
Spend
Finances
Mint
Tablet
Insights
My Generation
Comprehensive
Computer
Checking
Institutions
Balancing
Does
Mobile
Quick
Just
Want
Wanted
User
Who
Multiple
At 16, I started a web development business and had clients from the Netherlands, Caribbean, and across the country - none of whom knew my age because I could conduct all my business with a phone, scanner, and the Internet.
Aaron Patzer
Business
Age
Phone
Internet
Country
Caribbean
Web
Netherlands
Could
Had
Knew
Development
Because
Clients
None
Conduct
Across
Whom
Started
The typical workday, particularly in startup mode, is from nine to six or nine to seven, then you take a two-hour break to work out and eat dinner. By that time, you're relaxed, and then you work until midnight or one A.M. If there was no break with physical activity, you'd be more tired and less alert.
Aaron Patzer
Work
Time
Tired
You
Dinner
Startup
Nine
Seven
Typical
Relaxed
Out
Physical
Eat
Physical Activity
More
Take
Particularly
Until
Mode
Six
Break
Midnight
Work Out
Then
Less
Activity
Alert
Whenever I see a tree that is climbable, it must be climbed. Sometimes when I'm on a run, I'll just run up a tree, jump on a branch and swing off. My favorite tree, in Saratoga, gets me a good 75 feet up.
Aaron Patzer
Good
Me
Sometimes
Tree
Favorite
Run
Must
See
Feet
Climbed
Off
Up
Jump
Branch
Gets
Just
Whenever
Swing
One of my top tips for aspiring entrepreneurs: Tell everyone you know about your idea. This runs contrary to the instinct that most people have, because they're afraid someone is going to 'steal my ideal.' Ideas alone are worth very little; it's in the execution and market feedback that companies are made.
Aaron Patzer
Alone
You
People
Worth
Feedback
Made
Market
Everyone
Top
Tell
Runs
About
Someone
Steal
Entrepreneurs
Idea
Ideal
Instinct
Ideas
Know
Most
Execution
Because
Very
Contrary
Going
Afraid
Tips
Little
Your
Aspiring
Companies
Most people don't know what they spend in every single area, but they know they have a problem in particular areas.
Aaron Patzer
People
Problem
Single
Every
Spend
Area
Particular
Know
Most
I have developed my most meaningful relationships online. None of them live within driving distance. None of them are about my own age.
Aaron Swartz
Age
Own
Live
Relationships
Distance
About
My Own
Online
Developed
Driving
Most
Within
None
Them
Meaningful
Large corporations, of course, are blinded by greed. The laws under which they operate require it - their shareholders would revolt at anything less.
Aaron Swartz
Greed
Corporations
Would
Laws
Shareholders
Operate
Blinded
Course
Revolt
Anything
Which
Require
Less
Large
Being around some of the bright lights of the technology world and having them expect great things helps you sit down and do it seriously.
Aaron Swartz
Great
You
Technology
World
Great Things
Seriously
Sit
Down
Some
Having
Lights
Around
Expect
Being
Them
Helps
Bright
Bright Lights
Things
I was around computers from birth; we had one of the first Macs, which came out shortly before I was born, and my dad ran a company that wrote computer operating systems. I don't think I have any particular technical skills; I just got a really large head start.
Aaron Swartz
First
Before
Think
Birth
Ran
Out
Systems
Born
Computer
Computers
Had
Head
Head Start
Particular
Wrote
Operating
Operating Systems
Around
Got
Came
Any
Just
Which
Really
Skills
Large
Company
Dad
Technical
Start
Without the ability to talk about government power, there's no way for citizens to make sure this power isn't being misused.
Aaron Swartz
Government
Power
Way
Citizens
Ability
About
Talk
Make
Sure
Without
Misused
Government Power
Being
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