Scott Weiss
Scott Weiss
Scott Weiss is a venture capitalist at the Silicon Valley firm Andreessen Horowitz, joining in April 2011 as the firm’s fourth general partner. A native of Sarasota, Florida, he founded and was CEO of IronPort Systems, which Cisco acquired in 2007 for $830 million. Weiss has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Florida and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBusinessman
CountryUnited States of America
helpful home rarely stated values
One of the stated values at IronPort was 'work/life balance,' but I wasn't living it. I was rarely home. And when I was home, well, let's just say I wasn't particularly helpful or cheery.
attend believe breakfast busiest business drive owners pack partner possible school
It's just not possible to be a real partner if you aren't materially participating. I believe even the busiest business owners must drive a carpool, pack a lunch, help with homework, make a breakfast or dinner, and consistently attend school events.
additional executive hold leading meeting quarter sure team
Hold at least one all-hands meeting every quarter and, to underscore the startup's team concept, make sure at least one additional executive joins you in leading the meeting.
months firsts lasting-impressions
The first day, week and month of an employees experience carries a lasting impression.
authentic essential
An approachable and authentic CEO is essential to fostering a high-performance, open communications culture.
ceo companies good mechanism
Most companies don't have a good mechanism to give the CEO real, honest feedback.
brightest home
For me, the brightest years at IronPort were without a doubt the darkest years at home.
admitting company failure hard helps learning methodical open thinking
Nothing helps make a leader more approachable than admitting your struggles, screw-ups and behind-the-scenes thinking on hard calls. If the leader makes this a priority, the whole company will be more open and methodical learning from failure.
legitimate scale shot
As a first-time CEO, I wasn't sure if I would scale to run IronPort long-term. But I wanted a legitimate shot at it.
currently experts recruit
The experts typically know where the other best-in-the-world talents are currently working and can help you recruit them in with a credible intro.
authentic founder list low might product sounds telling
At the core, coaching authenticity is complicated - some might say impossible. Telling someone to be authentic sounds pretty low calorie, especially to a founder plowing through a list of product and operational goals. But it's important.
amazingly drive fast frequently generous love means moment money parking slow time work
Be generous with your time and money - it has an amazingly fast payback. Be in the moment with everyone you love - and this frequently means tuning out work completely. And drive slow in parking lots.