Brad Feld
Managing Director Foundry Group and Author of Venture Deals and Startup Communities
Discussion
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Brad Feld
@bfeld · Managing Director, Foundry Group
Hi all. Brad here. I've been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for over 20 years. I've written a number of books including Start-up Communities and Venture Deals. I've also completed 23 marathons as part of my mission to finish a marathon in each of the 50 states. Ask me about anything!
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Alessio Santo
@alessiosantocs · Tech entrepreneur, Anywhere
Hi Brad,
Thanks for this amazing opportunity.
My wife and I loved the book startup life. It was really inspiring for us and it supported and improved our relationship together. It's 3 years now and we've had a baby this year
We've recently started working as co-founders and we can already feel how much this multiplies the challenges of our relationship.
In your personal experience and seeing all the startups you have seen, is there anything you would suggest to couples starting a company together that want to be successful and still enjoy life and family?
Thank you very much
Alessio
@alessiosantocs Have a clear set of rules for how you engage with work and not-work. Think about all the rules / tactics that Amy and I discuss in Startup Life. Have your our set / rules for engagement.
Sydney Liu
@sydney_liu_sl · Co-Founder of Commaful
Hi Brad!
Thanks for doing the AMA!
You've put out a lot of great content: books, consistent blog posts, interviews, and more. I know you’re an avid reader as well.
How much time would you recommend an early-stage founder allocate to consuming content (if at all)? During that time, what would be some of the staples you’d recommend founders to read to minimize mistakes/help the founder think in the right ways? Could be blog posts, books, videos, papers, even tweets.
Thanks!
Sydney
@sydney_liu_sl You should always be learning. I'd encourage deep intellectual engagement in a set of things that you think will move you / your business forward and then light engagement in stuff that is relevant to you / your business. Don't get hung up paying attention to a bunch of noise that has nothing to do with you or your company, but is general prognostication about the industry, the macro, or the universe. And, if you are in tech, read a lot of science fiction.
Danielle Newnham
@daniellenewnham · Founder, The Junto Network. Author
@bfeld Hi Brad, thank you for talking so openly about depression in startup world. From your own experience, do you think there is a way to change startup culture to better deal with the signs of overwork, stress, depression? Is there a way to alleviate the pressure on founders and, if so, how?
@daniellenewnham I don't know how to specifically alleviate pressure in a generic way. However, identifying that it exists and doing a bunch of specific tactical things for yourself as a human can help enormously. The biggest mistakes are either (a) ignoring / being in denial about the dynamic or (b) believing that there can be just one way and one way only. And, I think talking about it and being vulnerable as a leader is a great start. For more - go listen to the Reboot.io podcasts - they are excellent on this dimension.
Varadh Jain
@varadhjain
If you weren't allowed to invest anymore starting tomorrow, what would you be doing?
Kamil
@kamilszybalski · Growth Entrepreneur. Was @Hootsuitelabs
@bfeld Brad, what books are you currently reading and what's on your shelf?
@kamilszybalski Here's the current list - https://www.goodreads.com/review...
Troy Shu
@troyshu
Hey Brad,
Found Venture Deals to be immensely helpful! My question to you is: what are a few changes you’ve made to your life that have resulted in the greatest sense of happiness (running-related or not)?
Thanks!
@troyshu I'm 49 so if I look back the past two years, the biggest change has been to dramatically curtail my travel. For 20 years I travelled 75% of the time. That totally fucked me up on many dimensions, especially my long term mental health. Also, I'm now only investing in companies where I love the product and want to have a long term relationship with the founders.
Mohamed Musbah
@momusbah
@bfeld Hi Brad! Curious to hear your thoughts on when/why it would make sense to do an MBA/Executive degree . I know you've done one with the MIT-Sloan school of management and would love to hear your opinion.
@momusbah If you want a two year vacation from reality, go get an MBA. It's a great way to take a break and reposition the trajectory you are on in your work.
Drew Lawrence
@drewlawrence · Director of Business Development
@bfeld I couldn't agree more. My MBA experience gave me the ability to re-center myself as a person, really find my passion, and gave me the opportunity to make that passion a part of my daily life. Oh, and I skied 50+ days while in school. That won't happen again for a while!
Erik Torenberg
@eriktorenberg · Former Product Hunt
Hey Brad, Thanks for joining us today!
In startups, books, and building communities, you have so much to be proud of. What's something you're _not_ proud of?
@eriktorenberg I'm not proud of my inability to set limits. I've always had a very difficult time being a moderator at ANYTHING (food, work, exercise, alcohol, travel) so I end up having to either be an abstainer or accept that I'm going to slam into periodic exhaustion.
Todd Saunders
@toddsaunders · CEO @ adHawk
@bfeld Thanks for spending time with us at Techstars. Are you working on any new books? Loved venture deals, would suggest it to anyone on this forum.
@toddsaunders No new books until 2016. I was totally burned out on writing after I finished Startup Opportunities. My next book will be #Give First (I'll start and hopefully finish it in 2016) and then I'll write Startup Communities 2. Jason and I are also likely to do a 3rd Edition of Venture Deals in 2016.