When I was 17, I knew of four people at Apple Computer: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Al Eisenstat, and Guy Kawasaki. I loved my Apple ][ (not a +, 48k, with an Integer Card, two floppy disks). By this point, I was spending a lot of time on my high school buddy Kent Ellington’s TI PC (pre-release – his dad was the production manager), but my Applie ][, now with a Z-80 card, sat in the corner of our family room and consumed a lot of my time. ...
I love to experiment with new things. Some of the experiments work. Many don’t. When they work, I do more of them. When they don’t, I adjust my hypothesis and try a different experiment. When I published The Startup Community Way: Evolving an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem , I ran an online community with it for a year (2020), which overlapped with COVID, so it was weird on multiple dimensions. The software I used was good, but it evolved into a “monetize your community” type of thing, which wasn’t my goal. I learned a lot from this experience (good and bad). ...
I recently had a 30-minute chat (the average length of the Give First podcast interviews that I do) with Bobby Franklin , the CEO of the National Venture Capital Association . We’ve been supporters of the NVCA for many years. Two Foundry partners, Jaclyn Hester and Jason Mendelson, have served on the board at different periods. I was an early donor to Venture Forward , the NVCA’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We unpack the disconnect between Washington, D.C., and the startup world. As part of this, we discuss why that gap poses a growing threat to innovation in the U.S. ...
I’m on my way to Kansas City for the day to spend time with the Kauffman Foundation at the 1 Million Cups annual meeting, talking about Give First: The Power of Mentorship . My drive to the airport started off with an intimate conversation with a close friend who recently got a cancer diagnosis that compounds another serious health issue he’s been battling. Consequently, I’m in a pensive and reflective mode right now. ...
I’m on my way to Chicago for the day to give several talks on Give First: The Power of Mentorship and spend time with my long-time friend, Troy Henikoff. I enjoy Chicago and its startup community, which has produced some great companies over the last 20 years. I think my first investment in Chicago was during the late 1990s in StartSampling (which I inherited from a Mobius partner.) It lived for a long time based on the tireless work of Larry Burns and his team, but ultimately didn’t make it. My next experience was with FeedBurner, which resulted in a positive outcome and fostered lasting friendships with the founders (Dick Costolo, Matt Shobe, Eric Lunt, and Steve Olechowski), as well as several executives, including Don Loeb, Rick Klau, and Brent Hill. ...
I’ve been enjoying doing podcasts again on the Techstars Give First Podcast . When I went into hibernation two years ago, David carried the weight of the podcast and kept it going. But, … I’m back (for what it’s worth), at least for a little while until I turn into a pumpkin. I had a delightful conversation with Seth Godin . We’ve been friends for 30 years through an initial connection from Charley Lax as part of a diligence project that introduced me to Jerry Colonna and Fred Wilson around an investment that Jerry, Fred, and SoftBank subsequently made in Seth’s company, Yoyodyne (which was acquired a few years later by Yahoo!) ...
I spent two days in Toronto (hosted by Matt Golden at Golden Ventures) and a day in Upstate New York (hosted by Martin Babinec ) this week as part of the launch of Give First: The Power of Mentorship . Many others were involved in making this a fantastic trip that touched over a thousand people. Extra special thanks to Julia Baird and Olivia Goldstein for the awesome support. ...
Give First: The Power of Mentorship is now available in both physical and Kindle formats. BradTheBookSalesman says, “Don’t wait, buy it today!” And yes, someday it will be available as an audiobook. As a bonus, my long-time friend Andy Sack’s book AI First: The Playbook for a Future-Proof Business and Brand is also launching today. BradTheBookSalesman says, “Buy Andy’s book also! Make it a two-fer.” ...
The Kindle version of Give First: The Power of Mentorship launched today and is available for 50% of the regular Kindle price. Brad the Book Salesman says, “Please still buy the regular version also, but if you want an early look, buy the Kindle version today to help my Amazon ranking. And to get an early read of the book.” Amazon Reviews and Goodreads Reviews are now live. If you’ve read an early version and are willing, please share your thoughts with a review.
My morning started early with a 6:30 a.m. drive to Denver to give a talk about Give First: The Power of Mentorship , which Erik Mitisek had organized for a group of Denver-area founders. In it, one of Erik’s questions caused me to go off on a riff about authenticity, which led me to one of the Techstars Mentor Manifesto items titled Be Authentic—Practice: What You Preach and a section in the book titled Nonsense Phrases Such as “I’m Value Added”. I gave the example in the section Being Full of Value‑Added Shit and explained that when I hear someone say “I’m an (adjective) (noun)” I insert (in my brain) the word “not” after the word “I’m.” From the book: ...