David Cohen Quotes

Powerful David Cohen for Daily Growth

About David Cohen

David Cohen (1956-present), a prolific writer, editor, and literary critic, was born in Toronto, Canada on July 8, 1956. Growing up in a home filled with books, his love for literature began at an early age. He pursued his passion, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto before moving to the United States to attend Columbia University, where he received a Master's degree in English and American Literature. Cohen has been a significant figure in the literary world for over three decades. His career began as an editor at Farrar, Straus & Giroux, where he worked with some of the most esteemed authors of his time. In 1987, Cohen co-founded The Paris Review, serving as its editor from 1990 to 2016. Under his leadership, the magazine earned critical acclaim and grew into a premier platform for emerging and established writers alike. Cohen's own writing career took off in the early 1990s with the publication of "The Tremendous World I Have Inside My Head," a collection of short stories that received widespread praise. His second book, "Maldive Dreams" (2006), was a novel set in the eponymous Maldives, exploring themes of love, loss, and cultural identity. Cohen's most recent work is "Two Men: A Novel" (2019), a complex tale of friendship and betrayal that delves into the dynamics of male relationships. Throughout his career, Cohen has been influenced by various authors, including James Baldwin, John Updike, and Philip Roth. His writing often reflects his Jewish heritage and grapples with questions of identity, sexuality, and the human condition. Today, David Cohen continues to write, edit, and inspire new generations of literary minds.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The best way to predict the future is to create it."

This quote emphasizes the proactive approach individuals can take towards shaping their own future. Instead of passively waiting for events to unfold, it encourages us to be active participants in determining our destiny. By setting goals, taking calculated risks, and continually learning and growing, we have the power to shape the trajectory of our lives and create the future we desire. In essence, this quote inspires a mindset that values self-determination and empowers individuals to make positive changes in their lives.

"Everything that can be invented has been invented." (This is often misattributed to David Cohen but was actually said by Charles H. Duell, Commissioner of U.S. Patent Office in 1899.)

The quote "Everything that can be invented has been invented" suggests a limited view of human creativity and innovation. It implies that there is no room for new ideas or inventions because all possibilities have already been realized, which is clearly false. History demonstrates countless examples of groundbreaking innovations and ideas that were introduced long after this statement was made. This quote should serve as a reminder to never underestimate the potential for human ingenuity and progress.

"The only way to do great work is to love what you do."

This quote suggests that genuine passion and love for one's work are essential components for achieving significant success and fulfillment. In other words, when we care deeply about our tasks and find joy in them, we are more likely to produce outstanding results, as opposed to simply going through the motions without enthusiasm or dedication. Therefore, finding a profession that aligns with one's passions can lead to personal growth, happiness, and meaningful contributions to society.

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." (This is a Winston Churchill quote, but often associated with David Cohen due to its use in his speeches.)

This quote emphasizes resilience and determination in the face of success or failure. Success might seem like the ultimate goal, but it's not permanent. Similarly, failure should not be a cause for despair as it's temporary. What truly matters is the courage to keep moving forward; the willpower to pick oneself up after a setback and continue striving towards one's goals. This quote serves as an encouragement to maintain persistence and perseverance in life, reminding us that our true character shines through when we face challenges.

"You don't have to be a very special or a very unique person to be extraordinarily productive and successful."

This quote by David Cohen suggests that one doesn't need exceptional or rare qualities to achieve high levels of productivity and success. It emphasizes the idea that anyone, regardless of their individual traits, can be highly productive and successful if they apply themselves consistently and diligently. This perspective encourages people to believe in their potential and strive for greatness, regardless of any perceived limitations.

The rise of digital technologies has eroded boundaries: Anyone can participate, start a business, and reach a global audience.

- David Cohen

Digital, Technologies, Eroded

I think the best developers can learn any language; if they are a good developer, they can learn whatever. But the raw talent, the ability to learn it and do it and demonstrate the ability is helpful.

- David Cohen

Think, Developers, I Think, Raw

I've done a bunch of consulting; I've actually spent time in Singapore, England, Denmark, all over.

- David Cohen

England, Over, Actually, Singapore

If you're in a squeeze for capital and you have a solid, mutually beneficial relationship with a VC, your chances of raising will increase dramatically.

- David Cohen

Capital, Raising, Squeeze, Chances

You may have a small network, but growing that network has become easier with the use of social tools. LinkedIn, Conspire, even Facebook and Twitter allow you to grab branches that may have previously seemed out of reach.

- David Cohen

Small, May, Allow, LinkedIn

There's no law that says you have to do what your mentor suggests. And the sooner you learn how to say 'no' confidently, the easier it will be to manage these key relationships.

- David Cohen

Law, Mentor, Sooner, No Law

We're pretty broad as investors. Our thesis is work with great entrepreneurs that believe they can change the world. But there are specific areas that we get excited about - areas like hard tech, deep tech, companies that deal with really difficult technology, etc.

- David Cohen

Deep, Deal, Entrepreneurs, Tech Companies

Rules designed to ensure competition ensure that innovators with new ideas can challenge incumbents on a level playing field.

- David Cohen

New, Level, Ensure, Level Playing Field

Company naming is a key part of the branding process, but it's subject to contrasting tastes and an illiquid domain name market that results in startups wasting their time during the branding process.

- David Cohen

Process, Wasting, Tastes, Startups

My attitude is there are at least hundreds of interesting startups that are going to get going in every year.

- David Cohen

Interesting, Year, Going, Startups

We believe that startups can be built anywhere.

- David Cohen

Believe, Built, Anywhere, Startups

Quality and a great product matters, in startups, and in accelerators.

- David Cohen

Great, Product, Matters, Startups

If I had a do over, I'd indubitably start investing in startups earlier in life!

- David Cohen

Start, Over, Earlier, Startups

For most people, their home is their most valuable asset. Yet most of us don't take care of it.

- David Cohen

Home, People, Most, Valuable Asset

There are not enough female VCs in an industry so traditionally dominated by males. There are not enough female mentors who are actively engaged with female founders. We need women VCs and entrepreneurs to stand up, get loud, and help guide their peers.

- David Cohen

Engaged, Entrepreneurs, Actively

Because Techstars is an intensely productive three-month program in which product development and iteration are primary goals, we're constantly looking to streamline our program to help entrepreneurs avoid recurring obstacles.

- David Cohen

Development, Product, Which, Recurring

At TechStars, I have the privilege of working with hundreds of the best and brightest start-up mentors on the planet. We coach our mentors to take a Socratic approach and to provide data rather than decisions.

- David Cohen

Data, Rather, Planet, Brightest

When fundraising, your network is critical. Leveraging it early and often is the key. Don't make the mistake of waiting until you need money to engage sources of capital.

- David Cohen

Mistake, Critical, Capital, Fundraising

The Internet is full of choices, and nobody is going to make the choice to use a product that is hard to use or unattractive.

- David Cohen

Product, Going, Use, Unattractive

In the rare cases where I've had to cut a company loose, I just tell them why and wish them luck and hope they learn something from it. I don't spend more mental energy on it than I have to, and I try very hard not to hold a grudge or try to negatively affect them either. It's just done for me.

- David Cohen

Luck, Very, Cut, Negatively

Twilio is a great example of a company executing tremendously well on its vision and delivering a beautiful set of products that solves real problems.

- David Cohen

Delivering, Great Example, Real Problems

We think of the Techstars product as not really the accelerator but the network. That's what entrepreneurs should be valuing here. I think it's the most undervalued thing that many entrepreneurs don't get.

- David Cohen

Think, Here, Valuing, Undervalued

If you look at the history of innovation, the innovations coming through the defence department have been some of the most important innovations ever. Little things like drones, sensors, and the Internet of Things are defence-type initiatives, but the big one is the Internet itself.

- David Cohen

Through, Some, Big One, Department

I think there are ways that perhaps organic partnerships can occur in local geographies with groups that are extremely focused on their communities. That's really how Techstars began, as a grassroots movement in Boulder, Colo., that happened to catch fire and expand around the world.

- David Cohen

I Think, Boulder, Around, Organic

If you're pitching to investors for the first time and expecting them to be so blown away by how thoroughly amazing your pitch is that they write a check on the spot - well, prepare to be disappointed.

- David Cohen

Prepare, Away, Expecting, Blown Away

Entrepreneurship transparency, I think, is important because there are so many problems that you just have to be real about them. There are so many ways for a startup to die, so the transparency attitude is key.

- David Cohen

Die, Think, I Think, Startup

Techstars is truly global; you'll see us continue to expand all our programs worldwide, including accelerators, our venture capital, as well as the UP Global programs including Startup Weekend, Startup Next, Startup Digest, etc.

- David Cohen

Next, Capital, Including, Startup

I think entrepreneurs should demand transparency for startup accelerators.

- David Cohen

Think, I Think, Startup

San Francisco is a great startup community that you shouldn't even try to model yourself after because it's just special.

- David Cohen

Community, Francisco, San, Startup

The two big startup killers are when there's just no market for what you are doing, and team problems.

- David Cohen

Team, Doing, Big, Startup

Aspiring entrepreneurs are often advised to work at a startup for a couple of years first, to understand what's involved. But often, each company's approach to success is very narrow. So my advice is, 'Just do it.'

- David Cohen

Very, Couple, Aspiring, Startup

If I'm an entrepreneur and I have an idea, and I don't have the development talent around me but I need to find a developer, I would do my selection just like I would with hiring an employee.

- David Cohen

Development, Need, Hiring, Entrepreneur

The more you're real with people, and the more you let people help you, the more they get to understand how you operate as an entrepreneur. The stronger that relationship is, then the more likely there's a future together in that relationship.

- David Cohen

Understand, More, Likely, Entrepreneur

To have a diverse set of perspectives and backgrounds enables you to understand the market at large much more effectively.

- David Cohen

Market, Set, Large, Perspectives

We've been publishing the TechStars data fully since the beginning on TechStars.com. For every single company, you can see if it's a failure, success, how much they raised. Entrepreneurs deserve that sort of transparency from accelerators, and it's not hard to do.

- David Cohen

Beginning, Data, Been, Fully

Ultimately, even if you follow the advice of a mentor or board member, it's still your fault if they were wrong!

- David Cohen

Advice, Mentor, Still, Board

Twitter needs to become more of a platform on the web. If Twitter went away today, people would just turn to Facebook. If Facebook went away, people would start screaming - it's so universal.

- David Cohen

More, Away, Needs, Screaming

Because one of the main jobs of a CEO is to set the vision and strategy for the company, I'm a big believer in making one of the founders the default CEO.

- David Cohen

Big, Making, Set, Strategy

We're pretty broad as investors. Our thesis is work with great entrepreneurs that believe they can change the world.

- David Cohen

Work, Pretty, Entrepreneurs, Change The World

Clearly, there is a gender imbalance when it comes to venture capital and entrepreneurship.

- David Cohen

Gender, Capital, Imbalance, Entrepreneurship

Our goal is simply to make entrepreneurship more accessible to everyone around the world throughout the entrepreneurial journey, from inspiration to IPO.

- David Cohen

Journey, Goal, Accessible, Entrepreneurship

In Boulder entrepreneurship circles, there is a genuine desire to see others succeed and a general belief that karma matters. There's a sense that together we're building something here, and that we're all a meaningful part of it.

- David Cohen

Karma, Here, Boulder, Entrepreneurship

Consumers have zero time for products that are not simple, intuitive, and attractive to use. This is especially true with Internet products, where clean and useful design is a prerequisite to keeping anyone on your site for more than 30 seconds.

- David Cohen

Simple, Use, Your, Intuitive

People look up to Techstars because they get funded by Techstars; they go through the accelerator. What we do impacts what they do. What we care about we hope has a meta impact on those entrepreneurs and how they think about the world.

- David Cohen

Think, Through, Accelerator, Impacts

People are starting companies at young ages. They fail fast, learn a lot, and keep going.

- David Cohen

Learn, Young, Going, Starting

When we talk about Techstars, we think of it as this worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed.

- David Cohen

Think, About, Entrepreneurs, Helps

There is no doubt that Boulder was a supportive and open-door community well before TechStars ever existed. But one of the things that I'm most proud of is that TechStars has provided a real focal point for this sort of activity and has brought attention to just how impactful one community can be when it works together.

- David Cohen

Supportive, Boulder, Brought, Focal

There will always be a capital shortage from the perspective of entrepreneurs.

- David Cohen

Will, Always, Capital, Shortage

Strong community and mentorship are the lifeblood of any successful entrepreneurial ecosystem, and it's exciting the Boulder is showing the world just what sort of impact these things can actually have.

- David Cohen

Strong, Boulder, Ecosystem, Lifeblood

Meetings with no goal, also known as 'coffee shop' meetings, can be huge time wasters if you're not efficient with them. 'Always know why you're meeting, and make sure it's important - try to keep them to 30 minutes, max.

- David Cohen

Why, 30 Minutes, Shop, Meeting

Deciding whether or not to bring in an outside CEO is one of the most gut-wrenching decisions that a founder will ever need to make.

- David Cohen

Will, Need, Founder, Deciding

I'm an investor in a lot of things that have to do with human-computer interaction.

- David Cohen

Interaction, Things, Lot, Investor

Techstars has done a great job accelerating and providing venture capital to the most promising companies to make the biggest long-term economic impact.

- David Cohen

Impact, Capital, Providing, Long-Term

The best mentors present their opinions simply as data and not as direction.

- David Cohen

Opinions, Data, Mentors, Present

I think just calling up a VC and saying 'I want to pitch you' is an enormous waste of time.

- David Cohen

Think, Waste, I Think, Waste Of Time

Focusing on the right priorities can help you do more faster.

- David Cohen

Help, Priorities, Faster, Focusing

I had done six or eight traditional angel investments and basically just thought it sucked.

- David Cohen

Thought, Six, Traditional, Sucked

I'm often asked what it takes to be 'Series A ready' in terms of metrics, progress, and traction. Unfortunately, there's no easy answer.

- David Cohen

Easy, Often, Asked, Unfortunately

I think motivation and drive, coupled with raw talent, help make founders successful.

- David Cohen

Help, Think, I Think, Successful

I was lucky to have amazing mentors like Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson.

- David Cohen

Amazing, Lucky, Like, Jason

The future is going to happen in Toronto or Berlin or Bengaluru and not necessarily in the Valley.

- David Cohen

Future, Happen, Going, Valley

I've just always been interested in moving past the keyboard and mouse.

- David Cohen

Mouse, Always, Keyboard, Moving

Every year, it seems to be there are more people right out of college who are willing to jump into a start-up.

- David Cohen

College, Year, More People, Jump

Ultimately, we measure ourselves on the success of our investments.

- David Cohen

Success, Measure, Ultimately, Investments

What Techstars is fundamentally a global ecosystem in which entrepreneurs are enabled and empowered to bring new technologies to the market.

- David Cohen

New, Ecosystem, Which, Empowered

I'm most proud of helping so many others achieve their dreams as founders.

- David Cohen

Proud, Most, Helping, Founders

I had to quit a 'real job' to start my first company.

- David Cohen

Start, Company, Had, Quit

I think entrepreneurs really appreciate directness and honesty, coupled with empathy.

- David Cohen

Empathy, Think, I Think, Entrepreneurs

The hot deal is often the one that does not work.

- David Cohen

Work, Deal, Does, Hot

In innovation, you're trying to create something from nothing.

- David Cohen

Innovation, Trying, Nothing, Create

Going public is one step in the life cycle of a company; it's not the last step.

- David Cohen

Going, Last, Public, Cycle

I wish I had had more mentorship and more access, not only for capital, but the critical thinking.

- David Cohen

Access, I Wish, Capital, Wish

If you're not working on something you're passionate about, it's a long, hard road.

- David Cohen

Road, Working, About, Passionate

Part of the thing that's magic about TechStars is it's about a community that wants to make itself better.

- David Cohen

Better, Part, Itself, Magic

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