Steve Jurvetson Quotes

Powerful Steve Jurvetson for Daily Growth

About Steve Jurvetson

Steve Jurvetson is an influential American venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, widely recognized as one of Silicon Valley's leading investors in technology companies. Born on August 18, 1967, in San Mateo, California, Jurvetson grew up with a passion for technology, inspired by the home computer his father brought him. Jurvetson earned his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan and later a law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law. His education combined with his technical expertise laid the foundation for his successful career in venture capital. In 1996, Jurvetson co-founded Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), one of Silicon Valley's most prominent venture capital firms. Notable investments made by DFJ during Jurvetson's tenure include companies like SpaceX, Tesla, and Lyft. His early support for these disruptive technologies has significantly contributed to their global impact. Quotes attributed to Steve Jurvetson often reflect his innovative spirit and belief in the transformative power of technology. One such quote is, "We invest in dreams, technology, and the people who make them real." This quote encapsulates not only his investment philosophy but also his personal approach to entrepreneurship. Apart from his professional endeavors, Jurvetson is deeply committed to philanthropy. He has been involved with various charitable organizations and initiatives, focusing on education, healthcare, and environmental conservation. His life and work serve as an inspiration for many, illustrating the transformative potential of combining technical expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, and a commitment to social impact.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Entrepreneurship is a Marathon, but Entrepreneurs Train for a Sprint."

This quote suggests that entrepreneurs are accustomed to working with intense urgency, approaching each business challenge like a sprint. However, the reality of entrepreneurship is more analogous to a marathon - a long-term commitment with constant challenges and setbacks. The paradox lies in the fact that while entrepreneurs must maintain this sprint mindset to overcome immediate obstacles, they also need to remember to pace themselves for the long haul and be adaptable, as the entrepreneurial journey is not a race against time but rather an ongoing process of growth, learning, and perseverance.


"Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard."

This quote by Steve Jurvetson underscores the disparity between coming up with an idea (which can be relatively straightforward) and executing it (which often involves significant challenges). It suggests that while generating ideas might be simple, turning those ideas into reality requires effort, persistence, and problem-solving skills. Implementation is where creativity meets practicality, and it's essential for bringing new ideas to life and making a tangible impact on the world.


"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."

This quote by Steve Jurvetson emphasizes the importance of taking action, especially when it comes to long-term endeavors or investments. It suggests that while an ideal moment in the past may have passed, the next best opportunity lies in the present. In essence, it encourages people not to postpone or procrastinate on important tasks; instead, they should act now and reap the benefits later. This principle applies across various aspects of life, from planting a tree for future generations to starting a business, learning a new skill, or making positive changes in one's personal life.


"If you don't try to do something beyond what you can master, it's like death."

This quote emphasizes the importance of challenging oneself and venturing beyond one's comfort zone in life. It suggests that stagnation or complacency, staying within familiar or easily achievable boundaries, is akin to death as it prevents growth, development, and progression. In other words, continuous learning, exploration, and pushing personal limits are essential for vitality, evolution, and living a meaningful life.


"The most important function of leadership is to make people believe that they have a future and that it is a bright one."

This quote emphasizes the critical role of leadership in inspiring hope and positivity among its followers. By instilling confidence in the team's collective ability to create a prosperous and vibrant future, leaders can foster an environment conducive to success. This belief is essential for unlocking each individual's potential and ensuring their commitment to achieving common goals. Ultimately, by creating a vision of a bright tomorrow, leaders empower those they lead to reach their fullest potential.


Elon Musk wins you over with his elegant mastery of engineering, be it for the rocket or the car. But what blew my socks off was when our conversation veered way off topic. We started musing about whether it was possible we all lived in the matrix, and Musk still had deep knowledge.

- Steve Jurvetson

Deep, Rocket, About, Socks

As a geek, I take umbrage at the notion that chips are not sexy. But yes, robots, drones, satellites and self-driving cars are the kinds of things that excite me.

- Steve Jurvetson

Sexy, Chips, Satellites, Drones

Statistical physics or Newtonian physics gives way to quantum physics. Very unusual properties of matter emerge at that scale, and you can think about building products in a very different way. You can think about interfacing to biology in a very different way.

- Steve Jurvetson

Think, Very, Statistical, Quantum

IT is permeating more industries. Moore's Law knocks down simulation capabilities. We don't need wind tunnels anymore, for example. You can run experiments more quickly.

- Steve Jurvetson

Law, Need, Capabilities, Simulation

Building and launching rockets has been a lifelong hobby that my son and I share. We regularly travel to Nevada's Black Rock Desert to launch rockets.

- Steve Jurvetson

Been, Nevada, Lifelong, Hobby

One tech-related concern with religion is that it appears to be a positive feedback loop to the accelerating rich-poor gap, as the disenfranchised opt out of modernity.

- Steve Jurvetson

Positive, Modernity, Appears, Disenfranchised

Machine learning allows us to build software solutions that exceed human understanding and shows us how AI can innervate every industry.

- Steve Jurvetson

Software, Solutions, AI, Exceed

In general, when it comes to AI, many of us subconsciously cling to the selfish notion that humanity is the endpoint of evolution.

- Steve Jurvetson

Evolution, Subconsciously, AI

Technology business increasingly becomes difficult to predict because technology itself is accelerating in change, and human nature and markets are more stagnant and static. But the dynamic engine of technological innovation continues unabated.

- Steve Jurvetson

Innovation, Increasingly, Engine

If you thought financial crises came and went, just count on them - another economic collapse, it's almost going to be like not news any more. But for startups this is great, because it's a perpetual driver of disruption.

- Steve Jurvetson

Thought, Financial Crises, Startups

Without disruptions, startups can't survive.

- Steve Jurvetson

Survive, Without, Startups

Firms that claim domain focus are late movers.

- Steve Jurvetson

Focus, Late, Domain, Claim

There aren't many sources of money in San Diego, apart from local partnerships and local investors. It's pretty starkly polarized to Silicon Valley.

- Steve Jurvetson

Pretty, San, Sources, Diego

Development of space will improve life on Earth. Access to space is important for agriculture, humanitarian efforts, communications, and navigation.

- Steve Jurvetson

Development, Will, Access, Navigation

I taught myself HTML.

- Steve Jurvetson

Myself, Taught, HTML

When you lower the cost of access to space, a boom of innovation follows, just as low-cost fiber optics paved the way for the Internet and the cloud services that followed.

- Steve Jurvetson

Innovation, Cost, Fiber, Paved

When a nanotech company matures and becomes a real business, it becomes something else. It becomes a biotech company or a cleantech company or a memory chip company. Nanotechnology has fueled the core innovations in electronics and energy.

- Steve Jurvetson

Memory, Electronics, Chip, Nanotechnology

In manufacturing, too much work is beyond repetitive - it is inhumane. The people doing this work aren't doing it because they want to - they are doing it because they have families to feed and clothe.

- Steve Jurvetson

Work, Doing, Want, Manufacturing

The concept of a 'job' is pretty recent. If you go back a few hundred years, everyone was either a slave or a serf, or living off slave or serf labor to pursue science or philosophy or art.

- Steve Jurvetson

Art, Pretty, Hundred, Hundred Years

When the venture capital industry invests, it's usually because they sense there is money in them hills. And often it takes a high-profile winner to wake everyone up in the category. SpaceX is that company.

- Steve Jurvetson

Everyone, Industry, Capital, Category

The first generation of biotech physically cut and pasted from one organism to another. You learned that taxol helped cure cancer, then you found the source organism and extracted the genes to make your drug. Now physical science is becoming information science.

- Steve Jurvetson

Becoming, Another, Cut, Extracted

Charging a fee for an online service is a good way to lose 90 percent of your customers.

- Steve Jurvetson

Service, Lose, Fee, Charging

The short version is I'm just a total Apple fanboy. I started programming Apples in seventh grade.

- Steve Jurvetson

Apple, Version, Started, Programming

I started programming Apples in seventh grade.

- Steve Jurvetson

Started, Grade, Seventh, Programming

The bad news is that most traditional VCs have a youth bias that they will state very overtly. You always wonder if that's a self-fulfilling prophecy or if it's something about the nature of those businesses.

- Steve Jurvetson

Bad, Very, About, Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

The beauty of compounding iterative algorithms - evolution, fractals, organic growth, art - derives from their irreducibility.

- Steve Jurvetson

Beauty, Art, Evolution, Derives

When I was 11, I went to space camp at the Space Center in Texas, near where I grew up. There, I met video-game-industry pioneer Richard Garriott, better known to gamers everywhere as 'Ultima' creator Lord British.

- Steve Jurvetson

Texas, Lord, British, Camp

Every new industry has exuberance in advance of reality. The techies get carried away. There is a period of despair. Then the pendulum swings the other way, and people see the long term potential. It's like when the Internet bubble crashed.

- Steve Jurvetson

Other, Away, Industry, Pendulum

You have to build businesses for longer term.

- Steve Jurvetson

Build, Longer, Term, Businesses

We only invest in businesses that reduce labor.

- Steve Jurvetson

Only, Invest, Reduce, Businesses

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