Craig Newmark, Founder of Craigslist
The most ordinary extraordinary person
What an epic evening with the founder of craigslist –
at in New York City! Of all the people I have met in New York, he is undoubtedly the most ordinary extraordinary person, truly one of a kind.Huge thanks to Craig for making the time to meet with us, for an extremely engaging conversation and very insightful thoughts, some of which are summarized below:
- You can be doing well by doing good.
- Treat people like you want to be treated. You should know when enough is enough. Be your sister's keeper, your brother's keeper. That should set your moral compass.
- Know when to step down. Sometimes the best thing for your company is to give reigns to others who share the vision with you but are better managers and leaders.
- Simple and fast design philosophy: sometimes keeping things simple and fast is best. Speed online is key. You don’t always need fancy websites that get in the way of function. Sometimes it's nice to have something that gets the job done. And then you can get on with your life.
- Trustworthy press is the immune system of democracy.
- Philanthropy is needed because the government doesn’t always have the resources, and moves slower because of so much red tape.
Special thanks to Baker McKenzie for hosting us at their beautiful offices in New York! And a shout-out to the best Icons Co-Host - Ben Guseberg - for meeting and greeting our guests, and all the help with the event. We make a great team! 😊