It is important to know what really matters for your company and yourself because your values will be represented in the products you create. Here are some good quotes and a link over to the article:

Don’t be evil
– Paul Buchheit and Amit Patel, Google

Optimism, pessimism, fuck that; we’re going to make it happen.
-Elon Musk, SpaceX

That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity.
– Steve Jobs, Apple

My role is about unleashing what people already have inside them that is maybe suppressed in most work environments.
– Tony Hsieh, Zappos

Only the paranoid survive.
– Andy Grove, Intel

The ultimate startup lesson: knowing what matters — Cleantech News and Analysis

Know What Matters: Make sure you understand your own values. Few people do. Ask yourself the really hard questions, and be brutally honest. Make sure you understand which values your fellow co-founders and early employees consider non-negotiable, and screen for them in yourself and others. If these values cannot be reconciled, someone has to leave. Immediately. Make sure you understand which values your co-founders consider important but NOT non-negotiable. Talk through what the lack of alignment means in practice: what types of issues may arise and how do you deal with them? Make sure everyone has the same expectations.