Give First

In this episode, Gus Balbontin speaks with host David Cohen about the dangers of building momentum, and how it’s important for entrepreneurs to “look sideways” to meet new challenges. He tells stories about his own journey, from a small town in Patagonia, South America, battling FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), to a dream job at Lonely Planet and a career of supporting and inspiring founders within the Melbourne startup ecosystem and around the world.Gus explains why it’s important to create your own “success metric” and not get caught in the trap of crazy momentum, so that you can quickly reinvent yourself and innovate to adapt to future realities.He’s about to launch the Unrealistic Foundation, dedicated to investing in companies looking to disrupt the education model.Follow Gus on Twitter: @gusbalbontinFollow David Cohen on Twitter: @davidcohen Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brad Feld talks with Semil Shah, founder of the venture capital fund Haystack, who shares his inspiring founder story. With limited experience in the entrepreneurial world, Semil relied on his mentors to see the potential in him. Seven years later, he continues to pay it forward by helping turn other’s ideas into reality. Semil talks about how he turned his passion for writing about startups into a career as a founder of an early stage investment fund and partner at LightSpeed Venture Partners. Learn how Haystack raised their first million dollar fund and how they differentiate themselves from similar companies in the Bay Area. Follow Semil on Twitter: @semil Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Chris Schroder opens up with Brad Feld about how a “mind blowing” discovery at a startup convention in the Middle East inspired him to promote global entrepreneurship. With a background in digital technology at The Washington Post and in entrepreneurship as the co-founder of HealthCentral, a health and wellness platform, Chris knows the power of technology and wants to share it with the world.Chris talks about breaking out of his own narrative bias, entrepreneurship being a global language, and why co-authorship is the key to success as a mentor and venture investor. Listen for Chris’s take on the power of mentorship and inspiring founder stories from around the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Misti Cain speaks with David Cohen about her journey from a digital marketing strategist to Techstars Anywhere Accelerator mentor, founder of mentorship platform Whyzze, and host of “Werrrk!,” a business reality show. She explains her best tactics for building important relationships in our challenging COVID-19 virtual environment, including having a visual component for a strong human connection, a shared raison d’etre, and clear communication. Listen for Misti’s memorable Whyzze business success stories, her early motivation, her definition of the true meaning of success — and why she believes everyone can Give First. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Co-host David Cohen and guest Heidi Cuppari discuss how she co-founded Dream Tank to truly tap into the radical imagination of children. What started as an experiment five years ago is now a place in which kids, such as guest Amelia Rose Battle, can help make the world a better place.Listen as Amelia shares her experiences working with Dream Tank. This includes how they created a VR experience to help veterans adjust to regular life after serving and learning how to support Dream Tank and promote youth entrepreneurship Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Brad Feld is joined by Techstars’ Chief Revenue Officer Frank Alfano and past Chief Innovation Officer Jenny Lawton to talk with their mentor – Len Fassler. They each share their unique experiences meeting Len some thirty years ago, the ups and downs of working together and the tremendous impact he’s had on their lives. Listen to hear how Len got his start in the entrepreneurial world, how he evaluates whether or not to buy a company, and the valuable lessons Brad, Frank and Jenny learned from him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip McKernan talks with David Cohen about how to find your purpose in life and his work with entrepreneurs. Through his coaching, he encourages people to take the risk they would only take if they were dying tomorrow. Listen as Philip and David discuss the importance of reinventing yourself, finding a business that fulfills you on a personal level, and how the idea of “holding space” can transform an entrepreneur’s home life. You can find the resources mentioned by Philip here. What would your one last talk be about? Tell David on Twitter @davidcohen. Techstars personnel and/or guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, and not the opinion of either Techstars or any company discussed in this podcast.This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities are for illustrative and/or informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by Techstars. Certain of Techstars funds own (or may own in the future) securities in some of the companies discussed in this podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in June 2019, David Cohen and Brad Feld looked back at their first six episodes of the Give First podcast, and decided that while they were pretty pleased, they’d probably need to do about 20-30 to really hit their stride. Seven months later, they’ve passed number 20, so they’re taking another moment to check in. Listen for reflections from these persistent podcast hosts, plus reminiscences on highlights from recent episodes with Josh Hix, Rajat Bhargava, Elizabeth Kraus, Jason Mendelson, Jannet Bannister, Heidi Roizen, Marc Nager & Dave Mayer, John China, Sherri Hammons, and Rebecca Lovell — as well as Harry Stebbings, host of the Twenty Minute VC, who enjoyed his first experience on “the other side of the microphone” as David’s guest. Brad teases a big new move for Techstars — the announcement, just last week, of Techstars Press — and talks about all the books he’s writing. Most of all, David and Brad want to hear what you think. Should the episodes be longer? Shorter? You can email them your feedback on the Give First podcast at podcasts@techstars.com.Techstars personnel and/or guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, and not the opinion of either Techstars or any company discussed in this podcast.This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities are for illustrative and/or informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by Techstars.  Certain of Techstars funds own (or may own in the future) securities in some of the companies discussed in this podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Techstars VP of Network John Hill sat down with SparkCharge Founder and CEO Joshua Aviv live from the floor of Eureka Park.Josh talks about how he started SparkCharge at Syracuse University, the life-changing impact of the Blackstone Launchpad program, and the unique challenges and opportunities of being a student entrepreneur. Josh also shares insights and advice for other student entrepreneurs in an honest and wide-ranging conversation. All captured live at CES 2020. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Damon Motorcycles Co-founder and CTO (and Techstars Mobility alum) Dominique Kwong talks with Techstars VP of Network John Hill about the unstoppable power of business and engineering partnerships, launching at CES, and the emotions behind building a company.  In this wide-ranging and emotional conversation, Dom does a deep dive on his training as an engineer, how he met (and forms a deep connection with his co-founder), the importance of founder communication and all the “blood, sweat and tears” that goes into building a company. Finally, he describes the experience of unveiling a product at CES’s famed North Hall, alongside giants like Audi and Intel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.