Hi, I’m David G. Cohen.

My fake Brad Feld tag cloud

When I read Brad Feld’s latest post “Random Acts of Kindness – Marathon Fundraising“, it made me think that If I had to create a fake tag cloud of words that have to do with Brad, the word “random” would be in it, as would the word “kindness.”

You see, I met Brad on one of his “random days“, and the result of that meeting was TechStars. Brad has gone on to lead by example with his “give first, get later” philosophy in countless ways. The way he and his wife Amy live their lives has been a true inspiration to me and so many others that I know.

The “give first” philosophy is what powers TechStars, in fact. All of the mentors give first, and I think most of them would tell you they’ve gotten something back that is unexpected. This is largely because of a seed that Brad planted early on at TechStars, and the leadership he exhibits by living his own life this way. Since then that philosophy has gone one to influence countless others.

So when Brad announced that he’d be donating at least $5,000 for each of the 29 upcoming marathons he plans to run to “random” families via GiveForward, and activating his community to amp it up all I could do was smile and say “That’s so Brad.”

Brad’s upcoming marathon in Missoula is a chance for you to follow his lead and participate in a random act of kindness. Use the widget here or check out the GiveForward “Kicking Cancer” fundraising page to help out Justin Salcedo and his family if you’d like. Or, just use the link to leave a virtual hug and help spread the word about this amazing thing that Brad is doing.

I hope Brad inspires you to “give first” or to create your own random act of kindness. Thank you Brad!

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I get asked to make many introductions. I’ve noticed a trend lately, which is that more and more of them go something like this:

Hey David, can you introduce me to investors that you think might be interested in my company?

To me, this is the lazyweb version of asking for introductions, and it has many associated problems which will prevent you from reaching your goal of having valuable introductions. This is something we teach aggressively at TechStars. I’ll explain.

First, it flips the social dynamic. Let’s take a specific example. Let’s say that I answer your original LazyWeb question above with “Why yes, Jeff Clavier is someone who comes to mind.”

You are now very likely to reach out to Jeff Clavier and say “David Cohen told me I should talk to you.” Now I’ve created an *obligation* for Jeff. Because of his relationship of me, he may feel that he almost has to take this introduction. While you might think that’s good for you, it’s not and it’s also not so good for Jeff or me. Further, in this situation Jeff is going to ask the inevitable question of whether or not I’m investing in your company – and if the answer is no, the introduction now has no power at all. In fact, it may have negative power.

Now contrast this with you asking me for an introduction to Jeff Clavier. You asking me allows me to reach out to Jeff (I never do blind introductions that are not double opt in) and explain to him that YOU thought of HIM for a specific reason, and are requesting that I introduce you to him. In this case, I’m merely facilitating an introduction that you requested. Socially, it’s pretty much expected of me that I would do this, and doing it as a double-opt in literally has no “cost” in terms of social currency associated with it. And, as a bonus, in the case where I’m not an investor this doesn’t hurt you because you’ve asked for the introduction regardless, for a specific reason relating to Jeff and not me (e.g. you love his experience with Fitbit, and you think that’s relevant to you).

Hopefully this example makes sense. It’s easy to overlook the other side of the introduction equation. The only introductions that truly work are those that are win-win-win, so it’s best to set that dynamic up with a) specific asks to specific people, and b) a specific reason why you want to be connected to them.

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I’m an investor in a company called GiveForward which helps raise money for loved ones, for medical needs. This company has so much “heart” that it’s hard to describe. You feel it in the founders every day, and in the stories that come in from their customers. I am incredibly proud of them for what they’ve built, as well as for what they represent and all the good that they help create in the world.

Ethan Austin, one of the founders, has a blog called “Startups and Burritos” that is really excellent. I noticed a recent post called “Best Job Interview Follow Up Ever” and I felt like I needed to share it. I have no idea why SlideRocket doesn’t make it easy to embed presentations here, so you’ll have to click on the link below to see it.

http://portal.sliderocket.com/BPBOP/GiveForward

This is a great example of a second or third impression. Being different and generating emotion are great follow ups after an interview or first meeting.

This reminds me of another company that I work with through TechStars, called ScriptPad. After first meeting the entrepreneurs I remember liking them and thinking they were doing something important. But then came this video as a follow up.

Second impressions matter.

I’ll leave you with something that Brad Feld always tells me about how Foundry Group filters the massive dealflow that they have. They want every interaction to be better than the last one. These examples show you the power of this in action.

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When I founded TechStars in 2006, the goal was to help discover amazing entrepreneurs and invest in them with not just dollars but also with a new style of super-engaged mentorship. Looking back after six years, we’ve expanded to five locations and TechStars has become something very special. The network of mentors, entrepreneurs, and investors around TechStars provide a tremendous number of unfair advantages to the startups that we fund, and helps them do more faster. TechStars is simply a joy to run. Most importantly, it touches lives and makes a difference in the world.

In 2009, I created a small fund known as Bullet Time Ventures, which had three investment strategies:

• Invest in seed and follow-on rounds of some very interesting companies that have emerged from TechStars, such as SendGrid, Next Big Sound, and Orbotix;
• Invest new companies founded by TechStars alumni, including SimpleGeo (acquired by Urban Airship) and Torbit; and
• Invest in companies that are not directly related to TechStars such as GroupMe (acquired by Skype), Twilio, and Uber.

That first fund is now finished making new investments and I’m very excited about where the companies and the fund will end up.

Earlier today I announced that I’ve closed a fresh $28M fund called Bullet Time Ventures II. This new fund will make initial investments of $50,000-$200,000. I expect that at least half of the investments will be made into startups emerging from TechStars. However, the fund is also designed to invest in any Internet software startup, anywhere.

If you know them, you probably won’t be surprised that I am incredibly humbled by the amazing people that I get to work with at TechStars every day. I feel the same when I consider the list of Limited Partners who have put their faith in me and have provided capital to this new fund. I also want to say a special thank you to everyone who has been a mentor to a TechStars company – you’ve shown the world the power of sharing your experiences and networks with high potential startups. I too have been the lucky beneficiary of game-changing mentorship. Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson have been close personal advisors to me on this journey and I am truly honored to call them friends.

I’m excited to start making new investments right away and to continue to play a small role in support of great entrepreneurs and their startups that change the world.

Let’s do this.

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Consider the email chain below. I’ve assembled it in sequential order and bracketed out some parts that are not public.

It would have been easy to read Mark’s “I did” comment as him being a bunghole. To me, he was saying “Dude, I already sent you that information so here it is again” and my initial reaction was that Mark was cranky and having a bad day. But the mistake in reading the tone was 100% mine. Mark was just complimenting me, saying “I knew” that this [something good] was going to happen to you. Essentially, he was saying it was no surprise to him that I was have success with something. He meant it 100% as a compliment, but it came across to me as a rude tone in email.

We all use email for very quick communications today. Keep in mind, any tone you attribute to a message is generated entirely by your brain, and not by the sender. Right now, are you attributing what I’m saying as “preachy” in tone? Or as a simple attempt to be helpful? It’s impossible for you to know from the word written here. Hopefully I get the benefit of the doubt.

Give the sender the benefit of the doubt on tone. Assume email has no tone.

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Last night, I was invited by Xconomy to come to San Diego and talk about entrepreneurial communities at a private dinner that had about 25 entrepreneurs and investors that care deeply about the issue. It was a great group of people and a lively discussion to say the least.

Xconomy had asked that I share insights on what made Boulder really work, and to talk about TechStars and the effect that it’s had not only in Boulder, but also in NYC, Boston, and Seattle.

So, I rattled off 7 things to the dinner group to spur discussion:

• Richard Florida’s work on the Creative Class matters. Please read it. This is now table stakes.
• I talked about how the real up and coming communities are entrepreneur led. Everyone else’s job is to support the entrepreneurs who are leading. I referenced Tony Hsieh in Las Vegas as a great current example of this.
• We discussed the idea of a “high quality focal point.” – This is the notion that you need something in your community that engages everyone deeply across the spectrum of first time entrepreneurs, more experienced entrepreneurs, service providers, angels, venture capitalists, students, etc. They have to have something “real” to do together. TechStars provides this for the communities that we’re in. But it can be anything, as long as it drives real activity and energy together and it’s something that’s not shallow.
• We talked about Brad Feld’s notion of entrepreneurial density. If the best efforts of a town occur in a dense area, you will have more serendipity and excitement around startups a compact area. In Boulder, this is palpable.
• We talked about what Brad calls “fresh meat” – a constant inflow of new talent. Again, TechStars provides this. But so do universities. The best entrepreneurial communities seem to do this well.
• We talked about being vocal about your community. I told the folks from San Diego “I can’t hear you!”. Talk about this more, and let the world know about your successes. Again, this has to come from the entrepreneurs (and be amplified by the media).
• Finally, I said that a community needs visible entry points. Boulder’s new tech meetup and boulder.me web sites are great examples. I love the “ambassadors” part of Boulder.me. Look at the entrepreneurial leaders who have stuck their hand up to say “I’ll show you around here.” Amazing.

Towards the end of the dinner, I also discussed Brad Feld’s view that you have to take a 20 year view to building a sustainable entrepreneurial community. I then asked everyone at the table to raise their hand if they were an entrepreneur. These were the potential leaders in San Diego. I asked them to keep their hand up if they were still going to be here in 20 years. Most stayed up, but some went away quickly. Perhaps 8 of the 25 hands were still up. I said to the rest of the table who did not have their hands up, “Your only role is to help these people.”

The conversation then lasted for a few hours. And I expect that it will last for many more years. But I did get a sense that the people in that room could make a real difference, so I was glad I went. Thanks to Xconomy for the invitation. I know they’re going to write it up soon in much more detail, and I’ll blog that link here once I see it.

UPDATE: Here’s the Xconomy story on this -> http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2012/02/03/techstars-david-cohen-on-reviving-san-diegos-startup-culture/

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