We need to change the way people think about business—to see that it’s not inherently evil but inherently good, my sense is that the social sector has acknowledged that, in the end, having a social impact is not the exclusive preserve of nonprofits. Whether you are nonprofit or for-profit, you need to be scalable, need to be sustainable, need to focus on customers and outcomes.

Pierre Omidyar

Categorized in : U.S.

People were doing business with one another through the Internet already, through bulletin boards. But on the Web, we could make it interactive, we could create an auction, we could create a real marketplace. And that's really what triggered my imagination, if you will, and that's what I did.

Pierre Omidyar

real imagination people

It is not really work if you are having fun.

Pierre Omidyar

procrastination ifs fun

Build a platform - prepare for the unexpected...you' ll know you're successful when the platform you've built serves you in unexpected ways.

Pierre Omidyar

unexpected successful way

You should pursue your passion. If you're passionate about something and you work hard, then I think you will be successful.

Pierre Omidyar

passion hard-work success

I've got a passion for solving a problem that I think I can solve in a new way. And that maybe it helps that nobody has done it before as well.

Pierre Omidyar

passion way thinking

We have technology, finally, that for the first time in human history allows people to really maintain rich connections with much larger numbers of people.

Pierre Omidyar

technology business numbers

You should pursue your passion. If you're passionate about something and you work hard, then I think you'll be successful. If you start a business because you think you're going to make a lot of money at it, then you probably won't be successful, because that's the wrong reason to start a business. You have to really believe in what you're doing, be passionate enough about it so that you will put in the hours and hard work that it takes to actually succeed there, and then you'll be successful.

Pierre Omidyar

business work believe

Long-term sustainable change happens if people discover their own power.

Pierre Omidyar

term long people

When you don't know what to expect, prepare for the unexpected.

Pierre Omidyar

unexpected knows

I want people to be entrepreneurs, but I want them to do it for the right reasons, because they think they can change the world, because they think they have got something of value to give to the world. Not because they think they can make a lot of money.

Pierre Omidyar

giving people thinking

Whatever future you're building, don't try to program everything.

Pierre Omidyar

program building trying

You’ll fail at some things, that’s a learning experience that you need so that you can take that on to the next experience... What you learn from those challenges and those failures are what will get you past the next ones... I was the pretty consistent bull and the cheerleader on eBay actually.

Pierre Omidyar

ebay mistake past

We believe people are basically good. We believe everyone has something to contribute. We encourage you to treat others the way that you want to be treated.

Pierre Omidyar

want believe people

To truly prepare for the unexpected, you've got to position yourself to keep a couple of options open so when the door of opportunity opens, you're close enough to squeeze through.

Pierre Omidyar

couple opportunity doors

Everyone is born equally capable but lacks equal opportunity.

Pierre Omidyar

equal born opportunity

I've been asked before, "Who are your heroes?" and these types of questions. I always find it hard to identify a single person or a single book or this sort of thing. I've always been forward looking. I was raised with the notion that you can do pretty much anything you want. You're able to accomplish anything you set out to accomplish. I was given a sense of confidence and I never really felt the need to - or I've never had the benefit, I should probably say - of being inspired by outside heroes.

Pierre Omidyar

benefits hero book

I was just pursuing what I enjoyed doing. I mean, I was pursuing my passion.

Pierre Omidyar

passion ambition inspirational

The personal wealth that's coming is absolutely secondary to the stories that I hear about our users who have given themselves some financial independence as well by starting businesses, and all the lives we've touched positively.

Pierre Omidyar

independence financial stories

Be an enzyme - a catalyst for change. As a slogan, I don't know if that's ever going to be right up there with Ich Bin Ein Berliner, or “I Have A Dream,” but there's a lot of truth to it.

Pierre Omidyar

catalyst-for-change enzymes dream

You have to really believe in what you're doing, be passionate enough about it so that you will put in the hours and hard work that it takes to actually succeed there, and then you'll be successful.

Pierre Omidyar

hard-work successful believe