Eric Ries wrote The Lean Startup in 2011 and changed how a generation of founders thought about building companies. He’s been an inspiration for me, especially around writing about entrepreneurship.

Eric has a new book coming out on May 26 called Incorruptible. The premise is one I think about a lot. The Lean Startup helps you build a valuable company. Incorruptible is about how and why to protect it, keeping a company mission-driven over the long term instead of letting it rot from the inside.

This rot is now everywhere, as described so clearly by Cory Doctorow in his book Enshitification.

On April 29 at 10am PT / 1pm ET, Eric and I are doing a fireside chat together. It’s virtual and free. Register here.

Last year I published Give First: The Power of Mentorship. It’s the long-form version of an idea I’ve been carrying around for fifteen years - that the best startup communities are built by people who put in more than they take out and don’t keep score.

The two books point at the same problem from different angles. Eric is asking how companies stay true to themselves. I’m asking how communities stay generous. Both are about resisting the pull toward extraction.

Register for free. I hope to see you there.

Registration for the Spring 2026 Venture Deals course is open. The course kicks off on March 2nd and, as always, is free.

Since we revamped the course in 2022, over 32,000 people have enrolled. This version includes entirely new video content and two sections we added that I think are important — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Venture Capital, and Mental Wellness in Entrepreneurship.

The course is self-guided and based on our book Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist, now in its fourth edition.

Sign up at venturedeals.techstars.com.

Back when the pandemic hit, Chris Heivly spearheaded a podcast with Ian Hathaway and me in support of our upcoming two books, The Startup Community Way:  Evolving an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and Build The Fort: The Startup Community Builder’s Field Guide.

We did eight episodes of a solid but complicated-to-produce series.

Chris is now spearheading a Season 2 podcast series with Techstars, mirroring a format pioneered by Seth Godin, who was a recent guest on our GiveFirst podcast.

Chris has designed a very simple, concise way for those of us who continue to learn how to effectively build our startup communities. At around 15 minutes per episode, they are an easy listen for even the busiest of leaders, instigators, and feeders.

Every other week, Chris will do a deep dive on a specific topic. I saw his topic list, which numbers over 100+ draft episode titles, so we are covered for the next few years. This list is based on his continued leadership in this area and the countless conversations he continues to have with community and ecosystem enthusiasts all over the world.

You can find the podcast on all the typical platforms including:

• Spotify 
• Apple Podcast
• YouTube
• Techstars Podcast Website

You can also read a weekly blog post from Chris and published by Techstars for thought leadership around startup communities and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

If this topic is important or interesting to you, subscribe to your favorite channel.

Foundercon is heading back to where it all began: Boulder, Colorado.

I’ll be there the whole time, along with over 1,000 of my Techstars friends.

The Techstars team is working hard to make this Foundercon extremely valuable to everyone who attends, regardless of whether you are a founder, mentor, partner, or community leader.

And, if you’ve never been to Boulder in September, it’s magical.

If you are interested, reach out or sign up.

Registration for the Venture Deals Summer 2025 online, self-guided, free course by Techstars and Kauffman Fellows starts today.

It’s based on the book Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist. When Jason Mendelson and I wrote the first edition, one of our goals was to eliminate the massive information asymmetry between entrepreneurs and investors. Venture Deals is now in its 4th edition and has continued to be a popular and helpful book.

This course will help you:

• Understand the players within the venture capital ecosystem
• Target the right investors for your company
• Learn best practices for investor engagement
• Learn how to structure financings using term sheets, capitalization tables, and syndication
• Learn negotiating tactics
• Learn more about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the venture capital ecosystem
• Learn more about mental wellness strategies during the fundraising journey

The course starts on June 5 and has limited availability. Previous courses reached capacity quickly, so sign up for Venture Deals Summer Course 2025.

The Venture Deals course is free and starts on June 20, 2023.

This is the fourth time we are running the new version of the course (v2!) that was co-created with Techstars and Kauffman Fellows.

If interested, sign up now. I hope to see you in one of the AMAs we will host for anyone who takes the course.

On Tuesday, David Cohen (Techstars co-founder/chair) and I did an AMA for Techstars founders about the SVB crisis. The team at Techstars turned it into a podcast for our Give First series.

The teaser from the podcast follows:

The fall of SVB will go down in history as one of those ‘where were you when …’ moments. For David Cohen, he was sitting at a sporting event when his phone began buzzing incessantly. For Brad Feld, he was couch shopping with his wife.

Feld is no stranger to crises and his instincts kicked in quickly.

“I shifted into problem-solving mode,” says Feld.

But then, almost as quickly, the government stepped in and money began flowing. Crisis averted. It was time to reflect.

Listen as Feld and Cohen share insight into what they saw in the VC and startup community, how communication made all the difference and how many came together to support each other.

They also tackle the looming question weighing heavy on founders’ minds: how will this affect the future of startups.

As for the couch? Tune in to find out.

The course is free and starts on March 21, 2023.

This is the third time we are running the new version of the course (v2!) that was co-created with Techstars and Kauffman Fellows.

If interested, sign up now. I hope to see you there in one of the AMAs we will host for anyone who takes the course.

David Cohen and I have co-hosted the Give First podcast for 71 episodes. I think our host ratio is 80/20 David/Brad, and he’s covered everything in 2021 because I was burned out on all things public-facing and needed a break.

He figured a good way to get me back in the mix would be to interview me about entrepreneurship and mental health, so that’s what Episode 71 is about.

Listen & subscribe to the Give First podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

Registration for the Venture Deals Fall 2022 course is open.

The course is free and starts on September 20, 2022. This is the second time we are running the new version of the course (v2!) that was co-created with Techstars and Kauffman Fellows.

If interested, sign up now. I hope to see you there in one of the AMAs we will host for anyone who takes the course.

I recently nominated James Oliver’s ParentPreneur Foundation for the new Techstars Accelerate Equity Program. Amy and I provided the lead gift of $100,000 through our Anchor Point Foundation. For a detailed look at what the ParentPreneur Foundation does, take a look at Techstars Foundation Empowers Black ParentPreneurs, So They Can Leave A Legacy For Their Children.

Through Accelerate Equity, the Techstars Foundation identifies early-stage nonprofits and ideas to empower and support underestimated entrepreneurs. We then call on the Techstars network to pitch in. The Techstars Foundation will add a 5% match to the total raised at the end of the calendar quarter.

Among other things, James has created a vibrant community for Black ParentPreneurs.

I’ve known James for a while, as we became friends when he started his previous company WeMontage. While I didn’t invest, we talked periodically and emailed regularly. I loved his book The More You Hustle, The Luckier You Get (it’s “pure James”). We connected after George Floyd was murdered, and he mentioned his initial dream of the ParentPreneur Foundation. I immediately jumped in to help.

It has been about a year since that conversation. Since then, a number of friends, including Mark Suster, Fred and Joanne Wilson, Seth Godin, and David Cohen have also supported the ParentPreneur Foundation. It has been awesome to see the progress that James has made. I’m delighted that the Techstars Foundation is including him in the Accelerate Equity program.

If you want to support James or support something I support around racial equity and entrepreneurship, please donate to the ParentPreneur Foundation through the Techstars Foundation.

In 2017 I helped get the Techstars Sustainability Accelerator off the ground in partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Amy and I have been supporters of TNC for over 30 years and Amy serves on their global board of directors. The program has been running in Colorado supporting pre-seed to post-seed stage startups at the intersection of conservation and technology since 2018.

This is a unique accelerator, partnering with the world’s largest environmental nonprofit, on a mission to supercharge early-stage startups who are protecting the planet, conserving our natural resources, and creating a world where humans and nature can both thrive.

They have graduated 20 founders (see 2018 class here and 2019 class here) and are taking applications now through May 12th for their next class.

This program invests in the following areas: 

• natural-based solutions to climate change
• providing sustainable food and water
• protecting land and water

You can see the full investment thesis at A Tech Revolution For Nature. 

Participating companies receive up to $120K in funding, personalized mentorship from Techstars and The Nature Conservancy, and much more. The program starts in September 2021. Learn more on the Techstars Sustainability Accelerator site.

Following are a few highlights that made recent press from some of the last class of alumni companies:

• “Climate change reversal startup Nori raises $4M for its CO2 offsets marketplace” – Geekwire
• “Propagate Ventures raises $1.5m seed round to help farmers adopt agroforestry” – AgFunder
• “$2M seed funding round empowers AQUAOSO to further its water risk mitigation tool set for agricultural lenders and landholders” – Intrado 

The Nature Conservancy is deeply involved in giving the startups access to the expertise of the world’s largest environmental non-profit. And Techstars brings a massive network of mentors, investors, and entrepreneurs on a similar journey. 

Applications close on May 12th, so if you’re interested, apply today!

The Techstars Foundation recently announced a new program called Accelerate Equity.

We created the Techstars Foundation in 2015 to help make innovation and entrepreneurship more accessible and inclusive. Since then, the Techstars Foundation has been investing in and accelerating nonprofits that deliver scalable impact for underestimated entrepreneurs.

Through Accelerate Equity, the Techstars Foundation identifies early-stage nonprofits and ideas to empower and support underestimated entrepreneurs. Each non-profit has a significant nominating donor. We then call on the Techstars network to pitch in, provide mentorship, and add additional financial donations. The Techstars Foundation will add a 5% match to the total raised at the end of the calendar quarter.

Amy and I helped get this program started by nominating and underwriting initial grants to Grid 110, Sistahbiz, and HBCUvc. The Techstars Foundation added Knox St. Studios to the list.

• Grid 110 – pathways to success for entrepreneurs in LA
• Knox St. Studios – building community wealth through entrepreneurship in North Carolina  
• Sistahbiz – membership organization for Black women entrepreneurs 
• HBCUvc – directing how capital is formed and distributed to increase opportunities for Black and Latinx innovators

If you are interested in supporting any of these organizations, please click on the respective link above or reach out to the Techstars Foundation. Or, for the three I’m involved in, drop me an email also, and I’ll make an appropriate connection.

Jaclyn Hester, one of my Foundry Group partners, recently asked if there was an online definition of #GiveFirst. I spent some time looking around, and, while it’s embedded in numerous podcasts and video interviews, I couldn’t find a clear definition on the web. The closest I found was from January 1, 2013, in a post titled Give Before You Get.

#GiveFirst first appeared as “Give Before You Get” in my book Startup Communities published in 2012. It was turned into the #GiveFirst hashtag by someone at Techstars around 2014. I updated it in the 2nd Edition of Startup Communities (2e) which was published in 2020. I also defined it in The Startup Community Way, also published in 2020.

The definition, from The Startup Community Way, follows:

#GiveFirst means you are willing to put energy into a relationship or a system without defining the transactional parameters. However, it’s not altruism because you expect to get something. But you don’t know when, from whom, in what form, in what consideration, or over what time frame. 

While I generally use #GiveFirst to refer to the idea, it often shows up at “Give First.” It’s become the official mantra of Techstars, and there’s even a podcast called Give First.

It’s a deeply held personal philosophy of mine. However, it’s not a static idea, and I’ve been thinking a lot about both the positives and negatives of it lately. But, for now, if you are looking for a definitive definition circa 2020, here it is.

Seven years ago this week, I posted about a new book in our Startup Revolution series called Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business, by my friend Matt Blumberg, then CEO of email marketing company Return Path in the Foundry portfolio. Today, with more around 40,000 copies sold all over the world and in multiple languages and formats, Matt and our publisher Wiley & Sons in partnership with Techstars have published a Second Edition of Startup CEO, which you can pre-order here. 

Matt and I originally conceived of Startup CEO when I was writing Venture Deals where Matt organically ended up writing a sidebar for many of the chapters which we called “The Entrepreneur’s Perspective.”  At the time, we talked about him writing a full “instructional manual” for first-time CEOs, and that’s what Startup CEO became, with over 50 short chapters with practical “how to” advice on everything from Fundraising, to People issues, to Board management, to Self-Management. 

In the Second Edition, Matt, who led the sale of Return Path last year, added six new chapters on Selling Your Company, which really rounded out the book.

I have given or recommended Startup CEO to hundreds of CEOs over the years. Matt has been very generous with his time in mentoring other entrepreneurs or bringing his book to life in online education and webinars.  Today, he posted one of the new chapters from the Second Edition of Startup CEO on Techstars’ blog, TheLine, on Preparing Yourself for An Exit:  How Do You Know It’s Time to Sell? which is a great example of the new material in the book.

Matt and others are working on a companion/sequel to Startup CEO which will come out in late 2020/early 2021. So, get Startup CEO now so you’ll be ready for that one when it comes out.

Techstars just released a 4-part original video series on entrepreneurship and mental health. I’m featured in one of the four short (< 10 minute) videos.

If there was ever a moment in time that challenged our individual and collective mental health, it’s the Covid crisis. When Techstars began working on this project last year, the focus was on increasing awareness of the issues around mental health and entrepreneurship. There was no anticipation of the additional pressure the Covid crisis would put on – well – everyone, everywhere. The timing goal was simply to release it during Mental Health Month 2020.

I’ve spoken regularly since 2013 about my struggles with anxiety and depression. As a result of a depressive episode that I had, I decided that I wanted to try to lower the stigma, especially in entrepreneurship, around mental health issues. I personally no longer separate between physical health and mental health – they are both part of our existence as humans, something everyone struggles with at some level, and something everyone can work on, if they want.

I’m officially DSM-5 300.3: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. If you know me, you know that I’m a counter, arranger, and checker with some washing (mostly hands) tossed in for good measure. My magic number is 3.

Since I became public about this in 2013, I’ve met many entrepreneurs who have opened up to me about their own struggles. In some cases, I’m the first person they’ve ever talked to because of the stigma associated with mental health issues, especially around leadership (e.g. a leader can’t show weakness). Some of the people I’ve developed relationships with around this are much more visible and successful than I am, yet, very few people know that they struggle with mental health issues. While that’s their choice, I’m glad they feel safe talking to me and I hope it’s at least a little bit helpful to them.

My wife Amy Batchelor is front and center in this video. When I listen to her talk about her experience with me around these issues, I realize how incredibly lucky I am to have a partner who has supported me from the very beginning. I know how challenging I can be at times, and I don’t think I’d be here, at this point in my life, without Amy.

I also highlight my first business partner Dave Jilk in the video. Dave is still one of my closest friends and probably knows me better than anyone on Planet Earth other than Amy and my brother Daniel. Dave’s support of me during my first depressive episode – when we were partners at Feld Technologies – was profound to me. And his support during my depressive episode in 2013 (which is a story I tell in the video) was incredible.

Many of the organizations I’m involved in are increasing their focus on mental health support. For example, one of the primary initiatives of Energize Colorado is mental health support for business people during the Covid crisis. And, there’s a lot more coming in my world.

Techstars – thanks for making this a priority for entrepreneurs. And to my fellow participants in the video series – Andrea Perdomo and Matthew Helt – thank you for being brave enough to tell your stories. Finally, Tishin Donkersley, thank you for the foresight, motivation, and endless efforts to make this project come to life.

A wave of entrepreneurship around the world was unleashed coming out of the Global Financial crisis in 2010. Today, entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship are more important than ever.

Techstars has been extremely active around content, community, and engagement around how entrepreneurs can help with Covid-19 as well as how they can navigate the challenges to their business. Some things that are coming up include:

• A public AMA that David Cohen and I are doing on 4/27 at 3pm MT.

• Numerous Global Startup Weekends to help come up with solutions for Covid-19 are happening all over the world this weekend.

Techstars has also created and is regularly updating a COVID-19 Resource Guide with the following categories:

• Upcoming Online Events
• General Advice
• Techstars Portfolio Companies
• Accelerator Program Updates
• Community Program Updates
• Crowdsourcing Solutions
• Fundraising
• Legal
• Tech
• Talent
• Business
• Real Estate
• Remote Work
• Parenting
• Mental Health

It’s awesome to see the engagement around the world from entrepreneurs who are working tirelessly to help us navigate the Covid crisis and the new realities we are all facing.

We are running the Venture Deals Online Course again. Registration is now open and it runs from March 8, 2020 – May 1, 2020. It’s produced by Techstars and Kauffman Fellows.

We’ve run the course six times now and have had over 25,000 people take it.

It’s free, although it’s recommended that you have a copy of our book Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist. The 4th Edition is out with plenty of new and improved stuff.

The course runs for seven weeks with the following syllabus.

• Week 1 – Introduction of key players/Form or join a team
• Week 2 – Fundraising/Finding the Right VC
• Week 3 – Capitalization Tables/Convertible Debt
• Week 4 – Term Sheets: Economics & Control
• Week 5 – Term Sheets Part Two
• Week 6 – Negotiations
• Week 7 – Letter of Intent/Getting Acquired

If you are interested, sign up now and tell your friends who are interested in venture deals.

Claudia Reuter, now the Techstars GM Americas East (and previously the Techstars MD for the Stanley+Techstars Additive Manufacturing Accelerator), has a new book coming out called Yes, You Can Do This! How Women Start Up, Scale Up, and Build The Life They Want.

I read the final page proofs while I was in Mexico and it is an excellent book. It’s a combination of a memoir, startup guidebook–especially aimed at women, exploration of gender dynamics in the workplace, and inspiration for women who are considering starting a company. It covers topics such as how to:

• develop and share your vision
• deal with stereotypes and unconscious bias
• leverage perceived weaknesses and turn them into strengths
• balance life at high speeds and avoid burnout
• cultivate the confidence to move from idea to creating a company with the culture and rules you want

Claudia includes a story of a half-dozen fictional people that unfolds throughout the book, bringing many of her points to life with tangible examples of how the conversations and dynamics unfold in the real world.

As I read through the book, there were multiple points where I thought, “Every man in any startup or fast-growing business should read this.” As a man in technology, I took away a number of new ideas, along with examples that were explained in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to do prior to reading Claudia’s book.

This is the fourth book in the Techstars Press series, following Do More Faster: Techstars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup, 2e (Cohen/Feld), Sell More Faster: The Ultimate Sales Playbook for Startups (Schwartzfarb), and No Vision All Drive: What I Learned from My First Company (Brown). Look for more from (and about) Techstars Press coming soon!

Claudia – congrats on shipping the book!

When David and I started doing the #GiveFirst podcast, I was told by a long-time podcaster that it takes about 20 episodes to hit your stride. Since then, several other podcasters have told me that the number is actually closer to 100. Given that hurdle, David and I are 20% of the way there.

In Episode 22, we review the last dozen podcast guests including Josh Hix, Rajat Bhargava, Elizabeth Kraus, Jason Mendelson, Jannet Bannister, Heidi Roizen, Marc Nager & Dave Mayer, John China, Sherri Hammons, Rebecca Lovell, and Harry Stebbings.

I’m enjoying co-hosting the #GiveFirst podcast with David. I hope you are enjoying listening to it.