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More About This Title Do More Faster: Techstars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup, Second Edition
English
Refreshed, updated, and expanded. Do More Faster provides time-tested advice, tips, and experiences by founders and mentors of Techstars to help entrepreneurs succeed!
David Cohen and Brad Feld, leading advocates for entrepreneurs and startups, team up to provide first-time entrepreneurs with the tools, insights, and experiences to help them do more faster. The authors share their decades of experience working with thousands of startup founders and have enlisted the advice of dozens of Techstars startup founders and mentors. Contributors include Tim Ferriss, Eric Ries, Matt Mullenweg (WordPress), Isaac Saldana (SendGrid), Ben and Moisey Uretsky (DigitalOcean), and other successful entrepreneurs.
Co-founders of Techstars, the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, Cohen and Feld recognize the daunting task of creating a sustainable business and have seen first-hand the common mistakes first-time entrepreneurs make over and over. The authors take the complexity and uncertainty of starting a business and distill the critical factors into seven themes: Ideas and Vision, People, Working Effectively, Product, Fundraising, Legal and Structure, and Work and Life Harmony. They share their hard-won successes, failures, and advice for anyone with an idea who wants to create a business.
Throughout the book crucial questions are raised and addressed from multiple perspectives.
● How important is it to have an original idea?
● How is founder conflict handled?
● What are the tradeoffs between bootstrapping and financing?
Make-or-break decisions like company structure, hiring, and legal consequences are presented in an easy-to-understand style. Do More Faster will elevate your thinking on a range of important topics, help you avoid costly mistakes, and provide you with a resource to consult as you go from idea to successful business.
If you have the drive and desire to start a business, need to create a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in your community, or want to spark greater innovation in your organization—don’t go it alone. Use the advice, tips, and tactics found throughout Do More Faster to give yourself the best chance of succeeding.
English
David G. Cohen is recognized globally as a thought leader on entrepreneurship. As co-founder and co-CEO of Techstars he has worked with thousands of companies and individuals. His Techstars accelerators have produced companies like SendGrid, Pillpack, DigitalOcean, FullContact and countless others, helping to create billions in value.
Brad Feld is a best-selling author on entrepreneurship, community building, and finance. His books include Venture Deals, Startup Boards, Startup Communities, and Startup Life. He is the co-founder of Techstars and Foundry Group and writes regularly on the blog, Feld Thoughts.
English
Foreword
Isaac Saldana, SendGrid
Preface
About Techstars
Introduction
Chapter 1: Do More Faster
David Cohen, Techstars
Chapter 2: Do or Do Not, There Is No Try
Brad Feld, Foundry Group
Theme One: Idea and Vision
Chapter 3: Trust Me, Your Idea Is Worthless
Tim Ferriss, 4-Hour Workweek
Chapter 4: Start With Your Passion
Kevin Mann, Graphic.ly
Chapter 5: Look for the Pain
Isaac Saldana, SendGrid
Chapter 6: Get Feedback Early
Nate Abbott and Natty Zola, Everlater
Chapter 7: Usage Is Like Oxygen for Ideas
Matt Mullenweg, WordPress
Chapter 8: Forget the Kitchen Sink
David Cohen, Techstars
Chapter 9: Find That One Thing They Love
Darren Crystal, Photobucket
Chapter 10: Don’t Plan. Prototype!
Greg Reinacker, Newsgator
Chapter 11: You Never Need Another Original Idea
Niel Robertson, Trada
Chapter 12: Get It Out There
Sean Corbett, HaveMyShift
Chapter 13: Avoid Tunnel Vision
Bijan Sabet, Spark Capital
Chapter 14: Focus
Jared Polis, State of Colorado
Chapter 15: Iterate Again
Colin Angle, iRobot
Chapter 16: Fail Fast
Alex White, Next Big Sound
Chapter 17: Pull the Plug When You Know It's Time
Paul Berberian, Zenie Bottle
Chapter 18: Love Doesn’t Scale, or Does it?
Nicole Glaros, Techstars
Chapter 19: Reconciling Vision and Focus
David Cohen, Techstars
Theme Two: People
Chapter 20: Be Open to Randomness
David Cohen, Techstars
Chapter 21: Entrepreneurship is a Group Sport
Mark O’Sullivan, Vanilla
Chapter 22: Avoid Cofounder Conflict
Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot
Chapter 23: Hire People Better than You
Will Herman
Chapter 24: How to Find and Engage Mentors
David Cohen, Techstars
Chapter 25: Hire Slowly, Fire Quickly
Matt Blumberg, Return Path
Chapter 26: If You Can Quit, You Should
Laura Fitton, Oneforty
Chapter 27: Build a Balanced Team
Alex White, Next Big Sound
Chapter 28: Startups Seek Friends
Micah Baldwin, Graphic.ly
Chapter 29: Engage Great Mentors
Emily Olson, Foodzie
Chapter 30: The Mentor Manifesto
David Cohen, Techstars
Chapter 31: Define Your Culture
Greg Gottesman, Pioneer Square Labs
Chapter 32: Two Strikes and You Are Out
Brad Feld, Foundry Group
Chapter 33: Karma Matters
Warren Katz, MAK Technologies
Theme Three: Working Effectively
Chapter 34: Assume that You're Wrong
Howard Diamond, Performance One Media
Chapter 35: Make Decisions Quickly
Ari Newman, Filtrbox
Chapter 36: It's Just Data
Bill Warner, Avid Technologies
Chapter 37: Use Your Head, then Trust Your Gut
Ryan McIntyre, Excite.com
Chapter 38: Progress Equals Validated Learning
Eric Ries, Lean Startup Methodology
Chapter 39: The Plural of Anecdote Is Not Data
Brad Feld, Foundry Group
Chapter 40: Don't Suck at Email
David Cohen, Techstars
Chapter 41: Use What's Free
Jason Seats, Techstars
Chapter 42: Be Tiny Until You Shouldn't Be
Jeffrey Powers, Occipital
Chapter 43: Don't Celebrate the Wrong Things
Rob Johnson, EventVue
Chapter 44: Be Specific
Brad Feld, Foundry Group
Chapter 45: Learn from Your Failures
Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures
Chapter 46: Quality over Quantity
Andy Smith, DailyBurn
Chapter 47: Have a Bias Toward Action
Ben Casnocha, Village Global
Theme Four: Product
Chapter 48: Don't Wait Until You Are Proud of Your Product
Ajay Kulkarni and Andy Cheung, Sensobi
Chapter 49: Find Your Whitespace
Raj Aggarwal, Localytics
Chapter 50: Focus on What Matters
Dick Costolo, Twitter
Chapter 51: Obsess over Metrics
Dave McClure
Chapter 52: Avoid Distractions
Andy Sack, Founder’s Co-op
Chapter 53: Know Your Customer
Bill Flagg, RegOnline
Chapter 54: Beware the Big Companies
Michael Zeisser, XO Group
Chapter 55: Throw Things Away
Eric Marcoullier, OneTrueFan
Chapter 56: Pivot
Rob Hayes, First Round Capital
Theme Five: Fundraising
Chapter 57: There's More than One Way to Raise Money
Brad Feld, Foundry Group
Chapter 58: Beware of Angel Investors Who Aren't
David Cohen, Techstars
Chapter 59: Don't Forget about Bootstrapping
David Brown, Techstars
Chapter 60: You Don't Have to Raise Money
Joe Aigboboh and Jesse Tevelow, PlayQ
Chapter 61: Seed Investors Care about Three Things
Jeff Clavier, Uncork Capital
Chapter 62: Practice Like You Play
Alex White, Next Big Sound
Chapter 63: If You Want Money, Ask for Advice
Nicole Glaros, Techstars
Chapter 64: Show, Don't Tell
Brad Feld, Foundry Group
Chapter 65: Turn the Knife after You Stick It in
David Cohen, Techstars
Chapter 66: Don't Overoptimize on Valuations
Kirk Holland, Access Venture Partners
Chapter 67: Get Help with Your Term Sheet
Jason Mendelson, Foundry Group
Chapter 68: Focus on the First One-Third
Brad Feld, Foundry Group
Theme Six: Legal and Structure
Chapter 69: Choose the Right Company Structure
Brad Feld, Foundry Group
Chapter 70: Form the Company Early
Brad Bernthal, University of Colorado
Chapter 71: Default to Delaware
Jon Taylor, KO
Chapter 72: Lawyers Don't Have to Be Expensive
Michael Platt, Cooley LLP
Chapter 73: Vesting Is Good for You
Jon Fox, Intense Debate
Chapter 74: Your Brother-in-Law Is Probably Not the Right Corporate Lawyer
Brad Feld, Foundry Group
Chapter 75: To 83(b) or Not to 83(b), There Is No Question
Matt Galligan, Socialthing
Theme Seven: Work–Life Harmony
Chapter 76: Discover Work–Life Harmony
Brad Feld, Foundry Group
Chapter 77: Practice Your Passion
Eran Egozy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Chapter 78: Follow Your Heart
Mark Solon, Techstars
Chapter 79: Turn Work into Play
Howard Lindzon, StockTwits
Chapter 80: Don’t Make Yourself Indispensable
David Cohen, Techstars
Chapter 81: Get Out From Behind Your Computer
Seth Levine, Foundry Group
Chapter 82: Stay Healthy
Andy Smith, DailyBurn
Chapter 83: Get Away from It All
Amy Batchelor, Anchor Point Foundation
Conclusion
Appendix 1: The Evolution of Techstars
What Motivated Me to Start Techstars?
Why Techstars Started in Boulder
How Techstars Came to Boston
How Techstars Came to Seattle
So You Want to Start a Techstars Accelerator in Your Community or Company?
Techstars in 2019 and Beyond
Techstars Foundation: Increasing Diversity in Entrepreneurship
Appendix 2: Original Edition - Foreward
Appendix 3: Where are the Techstars Companies Now?
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
Index
