When I met the Braun brothers in 1955, I had other ideas and wanted to stay with architecture, but I ended up working with them as an architect.

The first designs I saw from the school for Braun's radios made me realize I wanted to become a designer instead of pursuing architecture.

I was surprised that Jonathan Ive has a close connection to the entrepreneur at Apple, which is necessary for a designer.

As a child, I was captivated by a beautifully designed food mixer by Braun, despite having no interest in cooking. Its design intrigued me and made me appreciate the craftsmanship behind everyday objects.

In the early days of Clever, we decided that one co-founder needed to own sales, which became my responsibility.

I worked as an engineer at Abbott Vascular and a smaller startup, but I felt an urge to start my own company at 24, driven by my past health experiences.

The downside of being Jonathan Ive is spending too much time alone, but the upside is being part of an incredible design team for over 15 years where no one has voluntarily left.

Steve Jobs and I had a competitive relationship; we were like General Motors and Mercedes in the tech world.

While at Harvard Business School, I investigated why unique boutiques weren't online, discovering that many great merchandisers struggled with digital marketing and e-commerce.