I co-founded VMware in 1998, creating the virtualization industry, which allows multiple operating systems to run on a single computer or across computers.

We self-funded VMware initially, allowing only immediate family to invest, and later sought angel investors who were technically sophisticated and understood our vision.

At VMware, we launched the virtualization revolution in 1998 and took the company public in 2007, achieving a market cap of $19.1 billion on the first day.

I was approached by someone who thanked me for VMware, highlighting the importance of bringing a product to market that people love.

Joining the board of Google after leaving VMware was a significant step, and I was one of the few women on that board, which made a difference in discussions.

I started a company named NeXT and another named Pixar, and I fell in love with an amazing woman who became my wife.

I decided to start an internet company in 1995 instead of pursuing a PhD at Stanford because I wanted to be part of the technological advancements happening at that time.

The partnership came together when I realized my heart wasn't in venture capital; I wanted to build. I felt lost after leaving Dropbox, where I was part of a product that 400-500 million people were using.

I co-founded and was the CEO of three startups, starting with V-Extreme in 1995, where we developed low bandwidth streaming video technology that was sold to Microsoft for $75 million in 1997.