I've just always been interested in moving past the keyboard and mouse.
Techstars has done a great job accelerating and providing venture capital to the most promising companies to make the biggest long-term economic impact.
I think just calling up a VC and saying 'I want to pitch you' is an enormous waste of time.
Aspiring entrepreneurs are often advised to work at a startup for a couple of years first, to understand what's involved. But often, each company's approach to success is very narrow. So my advice is, 'Just do it.'
I'm most proud of helping so many others achieve their dreams as founders.
Clearly, there is a gender imbalance when it comes to venture capital and entrepreneurship.
Consumers have zero time for products that are not simple, intuitive, and attractive to use. This is especially true with Internet products, where clean and useful design is a prerequisite to keeping anyone on your site for more than 30 seconds.
To have a diverse set of perspectives and backgrounds enables you to understand the market at large much more effectively.
You may have a small network, but growing that network has become easier with the use of social tools. LinkedIn, Conspire, even Facebook and Twitter allow you to grab branches that may have previously seemed out of reach.
If you're pitching to investors for the first time and expecting them to be so blown away by how thoroughly amazing your pitch is that they write a check on the spot - well, prepare to be disappointed.
We're pretty broad as investors. Our thesis is work with great entrepreneurs that believe they can change the world.
In Boulder entrepreneurship circles, there is a genuine desire to see others succeed and a general belief that karma matters. There's a sense that together we're building something here, and that we're all a meaningful part of it.
If I'm an entrepreneur and I have an idea, and I don't have the development talent around me but I need to find a developer, I would do my selection just like I would with hiring an employee.
I think entrepreneurs really appreciate directness and honesty, coupled with empathy.
People are starting companies at young ages. They fail fast, learn a lot, and keep going.
Entrepreneurship transparency, I think, is important because there are so many problems that you just have to be real about them. There are so many ways for a startup to die, so the transparency attitude is key.
Techstars is truly global; you'll see us continue to expand all our programs worldwide, including accelerators, our venture capital, as well as the UP Global programs including Startup Weekend, Startup Next, Startup Digest, etc.
What Techstars is fundamentally a global ecosystem in which entrepreneurs are enabled and empowered to bring new technologies to the market.
Deciding whether or not to bring in an outside CEO is one of the most gut-wrenching decisions that a founder will ever need to make.
Meetings with no goal, also known as 'coffee shop' meetings, can be huge time wasters if you're not efficient with them. 'Always know why you're meeting, and make sure it's important - try to keep them to 30 minutes, max.
