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In case you missed it, the new startup community book by Brad Feld and Ian Hathaway, The Startup Community Way, was released last week. The Portland startup community got a mention in it. Portland’s Stephen Green sat down with Ian to talk about the book and answer questions from the our community, ahead of its release. Brad makes a guest appearance, as well.
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I don’t know about you, but I have a number of books that I revisit on a regular basis. And every time I do, I take away something new and different. One of those books is Startup Communities by Brad Feld, in which he describes his “Boulder Thesis” around how startup communities are built. I reread it about every six months or so. And now, there’s a new book from Brad that will likely get added to the reread list: The Startup Community Way.
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I’m lucky that I get the opportunity to sit at the nexus of passionate founders building early stage companies and the community of mentors who wants to support and bolster those founders as they strive to build the next great Portland company. While we all recognize that building a startup is ridiculously difficult, sometimes we forget that founders are suffering from any number of stressors and pressures, despite the stiff upper lip they project.
I’m a huge fan of Brad Feld’s Startup Communities. (Well worth the read or listen, if you haven’t already. I reread it every year.) And with it, the concept of “leaders and feeders.” That’s the idea that there should be folks who lead the startup community — entrepreneurs — and those that feed the startup community — like government — but don’t attempt to lead. Most startup communities I visit have plenty potential leaders but a dearth of potential feeders. That’s why seeing a reboot of legislation like the bipartisan Startup Act (which, in itself, was a reboot of a previous effort) is heartening. But it’s only a small step forward.
In the startup world, there are some prevailing assumptions about venture capital and building companies. But just because those assumptions are prevailing doesn’t mean they’re correct. That’s why I always like resources that help demystify the world of venture capital and its impact on companies. Like Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson.
If you’ve been following tech news lately, you’ve probably come across Brad Feld‘s latest book, Startup Communities, a treatise on what it takes to build a sustainable startup community. The book revolves around this concept Brad calls the “Boulder Thesis.” Read More
While Portland is still relatively immature as a startup community, we’re making strides in the right direction. And we’re beginning to track on the “Boulder Thesis,” a concept championed by Brad Feld—cofounder of TechStars and Foundry Group, an investor in Portland companies Urban Airship and Cloudability—in his book Startup Communities. Read More
If there’s one startup town of which I’m consistently envious its… no not that one. It’s Boulder, Colorado. They’ve really done an amazing job of forming a community that supports and embraces the startup culture. Across the board.
And Brad Feld, Foundry Group, and TechStars have been a huge part of that. Read More
Yesterday was a big day for Urban Airship. And for Foundry Group which invested in both UA and SimpleGeo.
So it seemed like the perfect time to remind you that Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson of Foundry Group will be chatting with folks tonight about their book, Venture Deals, over at Urban Airship. Read More
Running a startup is difficult. You know that. But did you know that one of the most difficult things about running a startup has absolutely nothing to do with your product or managing your team or figuring out your market?
It’s true. The hardest part of running a startup for first time entrepreneurs? Wading through the craptastic and nebulous legalese of contracts and term sheets. It ain’t pretty. That’s why Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson of Foundry Group took the opportunity to make it easier—and to make you smarter. Read More