I’ve been using email since 1983. I started with MH and Rmail, then cc:Mail, then Microsoft Mail, with Compuserve mixed in. Eventually, I ended up using Pine for non-Windows stuff and Outlook for Windows stuff. For a while. – Brad Feld
Ultimately, the goal is to use acquisitions to compress time on product development and get people on the team, especially in senior roles, who can help build out areas of the company they have experience in. – Brad Feld
For those trying to protect the past, it is a way of retaining power, status, money, a way a life, predictability, comfort, control, and a bunch of other things like that. It is a struggle against the inevitability of change. – Brad Feld
As I continue to believe that innovation and entrepreneurship are the key drivers to our economic future, it’s frustrating to hear such little cogent discussion around it. – Brad Feld
Accepting that part of the process of writing is deleting a lot of what you write is soothing, at least to me. – Brad Feld
I would say my whole universe is probably categorized as guerilla marketing. For a long time, I had a line which was, ‘Whenever I hear the word ‘marketing,’ it makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth.’ – Brad Feld
I think ‘Shoe Dog’ by Phil Knight is the best memoir I’ve ever read by a business person. – Brad Feld
When we raised the first Foundry Group fund in 2007, we took over 100 first meetings. We told our story several hundred times. As part of it was a slide called ‘Strategy.’ I still repeat the elements of that slide regularly, a decade later, as our core strategy has not changed. – Brad Feld
I was afraid people wouldn’t take me seriously, or would stop respecting me, if I talked about how bad I was feeling. The only people I talked openly about it with was my business partner, Dave Jilk, and my girlfriend – now wife – Amy Batchelor. They were amazingly supportive, but even then, I was deeply ashamed about my weaknesses. – Brad Feld
I have shifted my mindset in terms of how companies should… focus on building amazing products. If you have amazing products, the marketing of those products is trivial. – Brad Feld
One of the consistent characteristics of the tech industry is an endless labelling of technology and approaches. – Brad Feld
While it’s trendy to outsource your accounting to a third party, once you hit a certain size, it’s dangerous. – Brad Feld
Usually, the first three months post acquisition are up and down. The acquirer and the acquiree are trying to figure out how to interact. The founders of the acquiree are usually tired from the deal process and adjusting to their new reality. – Brad Feld
The pitch should be very clear about what you are doing, why you are doing it, and why I should care. If you can cover those things quickly and precisely, it’s easy for me to decide whether I want to spend more time with you or not. – Brad Feld
I’m not deeply involved in politics, but about 25% of the people I interact with in politics went to law school. – Brad Feld
As a company grows from 25 to 50 to 100 to 200 to 500 to 1000 people, the characteristics of who is the very best talent in leadership roles will change. It’s rarely the case that your leadership team at 1000 people is the same leadership team you had a 25 people. – Brad Feld
If you are feeling some December blues, or even depression, don’t fight it. Instead, do something for yourself. Be reflective. Let the emotions exist. And be encouraged that, like me, you can get to a better place, but it can take time. – Brad Feld
When I was in my mid-20s, running a successful company and clinically depressed, I was afraid to talk to anyone other than my psychiatrist about it. I was ashamed that I was even seeing a psychiatrist. – Brad Feld
In my world, historical revenue is the least interesting thing to consider in an acquisition strategy. The goal is to acquire technology that is on your product roadmap or people that fit culturally within your organization and help you execute on your roadmap faster. – Brad Feld
December used to be very difficult for me. For many years, I fought the transition to the new year, was generally exhausted at the end of the year, and just wanted to hide. I described myself as a ‘cranky Jewish kid who felt left out by Christmas.’ – Brad Feld
My view was, if I didn’t like Boulder, I’d keep going west, except I never really wanted to live in the Bay Area. – Brad Feld
I hope more cities engage with immigrant entrepreneurs the way St. Louis has – it’s a great model. – Brad Feld
Twitter has always been that refreshing place where I can quickly find out what is going on in my tech world. I follow mostly entrepreneurs and VCs – some who I know and some who I don’t know. I have a few companies in my feed. But no newspapers, no magazines, and no mainstream media. – Brad Feld
I have no idea what the economics of the movie business is, especially with all the new Amazon, Netflix, Showtime, AMC, SyFy, and HBO series. But I am intrigued with what feels like a new type of show – the six-to-eight-hour movie. It’s a little too long to watch in one setting, but you can watch it over a three- to five-day period. – Brad Feld
I’m hugely intrinsically motivated and have always believed that I’m fueled and motivated by learning. – Brad Feld
I’ve been traveling more and feel like I’ve figured out a comfortable way to do it. The biggest shift is that I spend my traveling time ‘in the moment,’ I don’t over-schedule when I’m somewhere and instead focus on longer time with less people. I also give myself plenty of me time on the road. – Brad Feld