A Proud Dad!

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

Brad Feld is, in my opinion, a transformational visionary. Cecelia taught him to read at a very young age. He has the ability to absorb everything he reads.

He has also developed the skill of being intrinsically motivated.

“Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on any external pressure.”

Brad illustrated this ability during a recent presentation.

“Tonight, I’ll spend about 90 minutes talking to y’all.  I’m doing it because I enjoy it and I learn from it.  While I hope, it is useful to you, that’s not the reason I’m doing it.  While I hope you have fun, learn something, and enjoy our time together, I won’t feel better or worse if you do.  In fact, since my goal is to learn from everything I do, I’d much rather you give me feedback about things you think could have improved our 90 minutes together.”

This is an excellent explanation of intrinsic motivation. Our culture drives us to seek the approval of others. I believe when a person is centered he does things for his interest which in turn will result in benefiting others.

“I then went on to explain that I’m motivated by learning.  I’ve decided to spend my entire professional life learning about entrepreneurship and have decided that my laboratory is “creating and helping build software and Internet companies.”

“ I derive enormous personal pleasure from the act of working with entrepreneurs, helping create companies, and learning from the successes and failures.”

Brad is very generous with his time and energy. He loves to teach and share his successes and failures with others. I have always felt that teaching enables you to learn and get more than you give.

Brad illustrated this point in a recent blog.

“It’s a good example of giving more than you get and letting the universe do its thing.  Gary DiGrazia, the CEO of Mindjamz, emailed me with some questions about his startup.  I didn’t know Gary but as is my habit I gave him some quick feedback.  We went back and forth a few times and then he told me that he helps produce the KRON 4 Weekend Morning News show and asked if I wanted to do an interview about Do More Faster on it.  Um – duh – yeah!  Two weeks later we tape an interview which just aired.”

About four years ago, David Cohen came to Brad with the idea to teach startup entrepreneurs how to run their companies by developing a mentorship program in Boulder. Boulder entrepreneurs would teach these start-ups how to become successful.

Brad and I were in Las Vegas during one of our father son weekends when he explained the concept to me. I thought it was a brilliant idea. Colleges and universities do not provide this kind of opportunity.

He told me he planned to advertise for applicants on his blog.

He did not know how many applications he would receive or how many companies they would take. Brad and David received over 300 applications. They decided they could handle 10 companies. TechStars would fund these companies in order for them to live in Boulder for 3 months for a small percentage of the business. During those 3 months, TechStars would provide the selected entrepreneurs with intensive mentorship, a startup community and an opportunity to pitch their product to venture capitalists and angel investors.

On a visit to Boulder in June, I went to TechStars and asked each participant to describe the vision of their company to me. Some could and some stumbled.

In August, I revisited each company and stayed for Demonstration Day. It was a day in which each company made a 12 minute presentation about their company to venture capitalists and angel investors in a quest for funding at the next stage of their company’s development. Start-ups are forever seeking funding. Brad invited venture capitalists and angel investors from all over the country to come to Demonstration Day. At least 350 people showed up.

The difference in professionalism during their Demonstration Day presentations was amazing.

I knew Brad had something big going on here. He did not stop there. In time, Brad and David started a TechStars program in Boston, then Seattle and recently announced a New York City site.

David and Brad gained a lot of insight from the experiences of both the start-up companies and mentors. They decided to write a book about their experiences as well those of the start-up companies and mentors.

“Do More Faster” is a must read for start-up entrepreneurs as well as entrepreneurs, angel investors and venture capitalists.

It is also a must read for anyone who wants to be innovative.

It provides a template for the components of innovative thinking. It teaches us how successful mentors and start-up companies learn to problem solve. These lessons are useful for anyone.

 http://serve.castfire.com/video/439475/439475_2010-10-17-130615.mp4

“When I reflect on the process of writing this book, I realized that I accomplished several goals at the same time that are all related to my lifetime commitment to continually learn, with a specific focus on entrepreneurship. At the most obvious level, I learned what it took to write a book and become a published author. But the process of writing the book gave me a lot of time to reflect on what it takes to create a new company, the attributes of a successful entrepreneur and how entrepreneurial communities work.

While we originally envisioned that “Do More Faster” would target first-time entrepreneurs, now that it’s finished we are hopeful that it is valuable for any entrepreneur, investor, and early employee of a startup.”

“Do More Faster” will be a best seller. Be sure to read the customer reviews on Amazon.com.