100 Quotes for Entrepreneurs

Looking for some inspiration? or just a confidence boost before your next meeting?

We’ve put together some of the most powerful quotes from entrepreneurs and leaders.

So sit up, put on your favorite soundtrack, and get motivated!

Inspirational Quotes for Entrepreneurs

“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t — you’re right.” – Henry Ford
“When you find an idea that you just can’t stop thinking about, that’s probably a good one to pursue.” – Josh James
“Too many people measure how successful they are by how much money they make or the people that they associate with. In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are.” – Richard Branson
“Entrepreneur is someone who has a vision for something and a want to create.” – David Karp
“I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars — I look for 1-foot bars that I can step over.” – Warren Buffett
“In the end, a vision without the ability to execute it is probably a hallucination.” – Steve Case
“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” – Steve Jobs
“There are lots of bad reasons to start a company. But there’s only one good, legitimate reason, and I think you know what it is: it’s to change the world.” – Phil Libin
“No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team” – Reid Hoffman
“All humans are entrepreneurs not because they should start companies but because the will to create is encoded in human DNA.” – Reid Hoffman
“Before dreaming about the future or making plans, you need to articulate what you already have going for you – as entrepreneurs do.” – Reid Hoffman
“If you want to be an entrepreneur, it’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle. It defines you. Forget about vacations, about going home at 6 pm – last thing at night you’ll send emails, first thing in the morning you’ll read emails, and you’’ wake up in the middle of the night. But it’s hugely rewarding as you’re fulfilling something for yourself.” – Niklas Zennstrom
“Whatever you do, be different—that was the advice my mother gave me, and I can’t think of better advice for an entrepreneur. If you’re different, you will stand out.” – Anita Roddick
“Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t so you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.” – Warren G. Tracy’s student
“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffett
“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it.” – Unknown
“Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.” – Jim Rohn
“I learned to always take on things I’d never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist.” – Virginia Rometty
“I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” – Estée Lauder
“If people haven’t laughed at your dreams, then you aren’t dreaming big enough. Just keep pushing forward.” – Daymond John
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” – Coco Chanel
“Life-fulfilling work is never about the money⁠—when you feel true passion for something, you instinctively find ways to nurture it.” – Eileen Fisher
“I dream, I test my dreams against my beliefs, I dare to take risks, and I execute my vision to make those dreams come true.” – Walt Disney
“Don’t start a company unless it’s an obsession and something you love. If you have an exit strategy, it’s not an obsession.” – Mark Cuban
“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” – Seth Godin
“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk
“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” – Oprah Winfrey
“My advice for anyone thinking of starting their own business is, above all, don’t wait. If you get an idea in the shower in the morning, try to make it the next day.” – Harley Finkelstein
“Trust yourself. Think for yourself. Act for yourself. Speak for yourself. Be yourself. Imitation is suicide.” – Marva Collins
“Aspiring entrepreneurs have to actually do something that they feel strongly passionate about, and in most cases they should seek inspiration from their own experience. … If you had a terrible experience, you should despise the experience to the extent that you are continuously seeking a solution for it.” – Best Ayiorwoth
“You are on the eve of a complete victory. You can’t go wrong. The world is behind you.” – Josephine Baker
“You can and should set your own limits and clearly articulate them. This takes courage, but it is also liberating and empowering, and often earns you new respect.” – Rosalind Brewer

Leadership Quotes for Entrepreneurs

“Success is empty if you arrive at the finish line alone. The best reward is to get there surrounded by winners.” – Howard Schultz
“The difference between a boss and a leader: a boss says ‘Go!’ – a leader says, ‘Let’s go!’.” -E.M Kelly
“Management is about human beings. Its task is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant.” – Peter Drucker
“And I’d say one of the great lessons I’ve learned over the past couple of decades, from a management perspective, is that really, when you come down to it, it really is all about people and all about leadership.” – Steve Case
“It is not the genius at the top giving directions that makes people great. It is great people that make the guy at the top look like a genius.” – Simon Sinek
“As a leader, it’s a major responsibility on your shoulders to practice the behavior you want others to follow.” – Himanshu Bhatia
“It’s stunning to me what kind of an impact even one person can have if they have the right passion, perspective, and are able to align the interest of a great team.” – Steve Case
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” – Simon Sinek

Failure and Risk Quotes for Entrepreneurs

“You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing and falling over.” – Richard Branson
“I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying.” – Jeff Bezos
“When I’m old and dying, I plan to look back on my life and say ‘wow, that was an adventure,’ not ‘wow, I sure felt safe.’” – Tom Preston-Werner
“Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me.” – Arianna Huffington
“Risk more than others think is safe. Dream more than others think is practical.” – Howard Schultz
“It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” – Bill Gates
“A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” – John A. Shedd
“If you don’t have big dreams and goals, you’ll end up working for someone that does.” – Unknown
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford
“It doesn’t matter how many times you have failed. You only have to be right once.” – Mark Cuban
“There’s a silly notion that failure’s not an option at NASA. Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.” – Elon Musk
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
“Failures are life’s way of nudging you and letting you know you are off course. Trying new things and not being afraid to fail along the way are more important than what you learn in school.” – Sara Blakely
“There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed.” – Ray Goforth
“It’s important to be willing to make mistakes. The worst thing that can happen is you become memorable.” – Sara Blakely
“Everything in life has some risk, and what you have to actually learn to do is how to navigate it.” – Reid Hoffman
“You have to see failure as the beginning and the middle, but never entertain it as an end.” – Jessica Herrin
“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
“If you are afraid of failure, you don’t deserve to be successful.” – Charles Barkley

Short Quotes for Entrepreneurs

“Everything started as nothing.” – Ben Weissenstein
“Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.” – Guy Kawasaki
“High expectations are the key to everything.” – Sam Walton
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney
“It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” – Scott Belsky
“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
“Fail often so you can succeed sooner.” – Tom Kelley
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker
“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.” – Napoleon Hill
“To win without risk is to triumph without glory.” – Corneille
“When you cease to dream you cease to live.” – Malcolm Forbes
“Tough times never last, but tough people do.” – Robert H. Schuller
“Be so good they can’t ignore you.” – Steve Martin
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” – Albert Einstein
“Startups are the truest passion projects.” – Vinay Kanchan
“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.” – Mae Jemison
“Vision without action is a daydream.” – Karthik Shankar
“A little progress each day adds up to big results.” – Unknown
“A year from now…we’ll see who was really working.” – Unknown

Funny Quotes for Entrepreneurs

“If hard work is the key to success, most people would rather pick the lock.” – Claude McDonald
“Don’t be afraid to assert yourself, have confidence in your abilities and don’t let the bastards get you down.” – Michael Bloomberg
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” -Bill Gates
“Money is like gasoline during a road trip. You don’t want to run out of gas on your trip, but you’re not doing a tour of gas stations.” – Tim O’Reilly
“Get big quietly, so you don’t tip off potential competitors.” – Chris Dixon
“Don’t play games that you don’t understand, even if you see lots of other people making money from them.” – Tony Hsieh
“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” – Henry Ford
“An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he’ll quickly learn how to chew it.” – Roy Ash
“Business opportunities are like buses: there’s always another one coming.” – Richard Branson
“If you broke a lot of rules as a kid, you’d probably make a great entrepreneur.” – Harley Finkelstein
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison
“If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” – Steve Jobs

Ethics Quotes for Entrepreneurs

“Your reputation is more important than your paycheck, and your integrity is worth more than your career.” – Ryan Freitas
“How you climb a mountain is more important than reaching the top.” -Yvon Chouinard
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” – Mark Twain
“Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company” – Booker T. Washington
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett
“The fastest way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be.” – Reid Hoffman
“Dear entrepreneurs, you can start a thousand businesses, launch 100 projects, and take dozens of companies public, but you only have one shot at being part of your kid’s childhood. Your kid doesn’t care about your platform, they care about your presence.” – Jon Acuff
“There is no better measure of your values than how you spend your time.” – Scott Belsky
“Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time.” – Arnold H. Glasgow