Best piece of advice you ever received…
My mother told me failure is not the opposite of success; it’s a stepping stone to success.

Your advice for other women entrepreneurs…
You’re going to fail, probably many times. But that’s okay — in fact, it’s essential. Very often, the difference between success and failure is simply perseverance.

Women in the workplace should be more…
Supportive of each other — both inside and outside the office. As Madeleine Albright put it, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.”

One thing you wish you could tell every young girl today…
Shut out that obnoxious roommate living in your head, the one telling you you’re not good enough, you’re asking for too much, you’re being too ambitious. That’s the voice that will keep you from living out your dreams for the rest of your life. Because, as Montaigne said, “There were many terrible things in my life, but most of them never happened.”

The woman who inspired you…
My mother. Her generosity of spirit touched everyone she met and, as a result, it was impossible for her to have impersonal relations. Perhaps most of all, my mother taught me about fearlessness, starting with the fact that fearlessness is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of fear.

The best story is the one that…
Taps into the zeitgeist, and gives expression to ideas before they are clear to everyone.

This one is for fun. You’re known for your tv cameos — which show is on your wish list to do next?
Law & Order. At a certain point, it seems like every New Yorker has to be in one, sort of like jury duty.