Brad Feld on Give First: Building Startup Communities Through Mentorship Without Strings Attached

Written By Ryan Morrison
 
 

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About Brad Feld

Brad Feld is one of the most influential figures in venture capital and entrepreneurship. His accomplishments include:

  • Co-founder of Techstars (2006) - One of the world's leading startup accelerators, which has invested in over 4,000 companies with a combined valuation exceeding $116 billion

  • Co-founder of Foundry Group (2007) - A leading early-stage venture capital firm that has raised multiple $225 million funds

  • Bestselling Author - Written 9+ books including "Venture Deals" (Wall Street Journal bestseller), "Startup Communities," and his latest "Give First: The Power of Mentorship" (2025)

  • Early-stage Investment Pioneer - Made early investments in Harmonix (acquired by Viacom), Zynga, MakerBot, and Fitbit

  • Mental Health Advocate - One of the first prominent voices in venture capital to openly discuss depression and OCD, helping destigmatize mental health issues in entrepreneurship

 

The Origins of "Give First"

During this special edition recorded at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Indianapolis, Brad Feld shared the evolution of his Give First philosophy—a principle that has shaped both Techstars and startup communities worldwide.

"For me, the phrase Give First means that you're willing to put energy into something without knowing what you're going to get back," Feld explained. "It's not altruistic. You do expect to get something back, but you don't know from whom, when, over what time period and what magnitude and what consideration."

The concept emerged organically from Feld's behavior patterns over decades. While writing his 2012 book "Startup Communities," he initially called it "Give Before You Get." However, when someone at Techstars transformed it into the hashtag #GiveFirst, the more concise phrasing stuck.

From Behavior to Philosophy

Feld recognized that Give First wasn't just a recent innovation—it was how he had operated throughout his career. This included:

  • His willingness to try things that didn't immediately lead anywhere

  • His openness to randomness and engaging with anyone about anything

  • His success in indirect pathways, where one thing led to another, which led to something else, which then became successful

"I sort of viewed that as a way of being," Feld reflected. "When I sat down to write this book, I really wanted to try to put it together in a clear way, a philosophy around this idea of Give First."

 

The Boulder Thesis: Four Principles for Startup Communities

Before 2012, the language around entrepreneurial activity was disconnected and academic—terms like "innovation clusters" and "entrepreneurial ecosystems" dominated. Feld wanted to create something more focused.

"I really wanted to create this notion of a thing that was focused on founders, and that became the startup community," Feld explained. "The simple way to understand it is there's only one reason a startup community exists, and that's to help founders succeed."

The Four Principles

The Boulder Thesis consists of four foundational principles:

1. Leaders Must Be Entrepreneurs (and Instigators)

Initially, Feld stated that leaders had to be entrepreneurs. However, he later refined this to include "instigators"—people within universities, government, or large companies who play leadership roles in startup communities but aren't founders themselves.

"The key there is that it's people, not organizations," Feld emphasized. "People are the leaders, not the organizations."

2. Take a Long-Term View (20 Years from Today)

Feld originally defined this as a 20-year commitment. He later evolved it to "20 years from today," emphasizing that you're always looking forward.

"Techstars, for example, is 18 years old. It's 18 years into its 38-year journey," Feld noted. "You're always looking forward into the future for what you're trying to create."

3. Be Inclusive

The startup community must be open to anyone who wants to participate. This principle ensures diversity of thought, background, and approach.

4. Create Continuous Engagement Activities

Regular activities that bring the community together are essential for maintaining momentum and building relationships.

The Give First Connection

At the heart of these principles lies the Give First philosophy. "If you're trying to build a startup community, you want to get everybody that's involved in it giving, putting energy into the startup community, but not defining transactionally what they're going to get out," Feld explained.

The contrast is stark: "If you say, 'I'll put some time in if I get this,' that's not productive. 'I'll only work with you if you sign this contract with me to do this'—that's not productive in the context of getting a positive feedback loop going."

 

From Pull to Push: How Techstars Evolved

One of the most revealing parts of the conversation was Feld's reflection on how Techstars evolved—and where it temporarily lost its way.

The Early Days: Pull-Driven Growth

In Techstars' early years, growth was entirely "pull-driven." Founders or community leaders would approach Techstars expressing interest, and the organization would respond to their specific needs.

Feld shared the origin stories of Techstars' Boston and Seattle programs as perfect examples:

Boston: "Bill Warner and I were having lunch in Cambridge, and he said, 'You guys are doing this thing in Boulder. You know, you should do it in Boston.' And after lunch, I walked over to David's office and told him Bill's idea. Three days later, we'd put together the money for the Boston program, and off it went."

Seattle: "Andy Sack said to me, 'We have to do this in Seattle.' A VC I knew, Greg Gottesman, also said, 'We have to do this in Seattle.' And before I could even respond properly, they said, 'We've already put the funding together. Here's what we want to do.' I'm like, 'OK, let's go.'"

The Shift to Push

As Techstars grew, it developed what Feld called a "Revenue Team"—essentially a sales organization. "They were showing up pushing products," Feld explained. "We had products now—Accelerators being one of them."

The dynamic had changed: "People would call us and we'd engage with somebody and we'd say, 'This is the thing we have for you. You want to work with Techstars? Here's an Accelerator.'"

Returning to Pull

Feld recognized that this push approach had caused Techstars to lose something essential. The pull approach had been more aligned with the Give First philosophy and the goal of helping founders succeed.

"The dynamic should be: somebody comes to us and says, 'We really want to do something with Techstars.' And we'd say, 'What do you need? In your geography, in your ecosystem, in your network, in your organization, what do you need?'"

He continued: "We really shifted our mindset around that. And I think that's something I wish we had never lost, because the pull, I think, would have taken us in some different directions and would have caused us to make less mistakes if we'd stayed on that."

 

Brand's Greatest Passions: Reading, Writing, Running, and Relationships

In a candid moment, Feld distilled his life's priorities into four core activities—a framework he's been "enjoying saying" as he approaches 60.

"I love four things: reading, writing, running, and spending time with Amy," Feld shared, referring to his wife Amy Batchelor, with whom he co-founded the Anchor Point Foundation and co-authored "Startup Life: Surviving and Thriving in a Relationship with an Entrepreneur."

"Everything else, there's plenty of things I really like to do. But those are really the four things that as I've sort of navigated my way through this time on this planet that I really love."

A Lifetime of Learning

Feld's journey spans nearly 60 years and includes:

  • Starting his first company in college, growing it for seven years, and selling it to a public company

  • Becoming chief technology officer and learning to do deals on the technical side

  • Accidentally becoming a venture capital investor, eventually raising funds affiliated with SoftBank during the internet bubble

  • Experiencing both massive success and "a lot of pain" when the bubble crashed

  • Starting Foundry Group in 2007 and co-founding Techstars in 2006

  • Writing nine books (with "Give First" being his latest)

"Two really amazing people, Len Fastler and Jerry Pak, basically took a guy that was in his late 20s that really knew nothing about any sort of transactional stuff... and really helped me understand it from a different lens," Feld reflected on his early learning experiences.

Beyond North Stars

When Morrison referenced Techstars' "North Star," Feld offered a thoughtful correction that revealed his philosophy on organizational evolution.

"I personally don't like North Star language because North Star kind of feels like it's unchanging—like it's this thing out there and you're heading towards this thing," Feld explained. "Anybody that's ever built a company knows that where you're heading evolves."

Instead, Feld advocates for understanding your mission and why: "The goal is to understand your goal and your mission. Contemporary language would be understand your why."

He emphasized the importance of continuous learning: "Keep learning and keep figuring things out and keep learning from mistakes and keep evolving where you're going, and doing it in a way where your ears are really open to the feedback you're getting—whether that feedback is delivered really politely and kindly, whether the feedback is really harsh, whether it's not valid from your frame of reference, listen to it."

 

Memorable Quotes from the Episode

"For me, the phrase Give First means that you're willing to put energy into something without knowing what you're going to get back. It's not altruistic. You do expect to get something back, but you don't know from whom, when, over what time period and what magnitude and what consideration." — Brad Feld

"There's only one reason a startup community exists, and that's to help founders succeed." — Brad Feld

"Techstars is 18 years old. It's 18 years into its 38-year journey. You're always looking forward into the future for what you're trying to create." — Brad Feld

"I love four things: reading, writing, running, and spending time with Amy. Everything else, there's plenty of things I really like to do. But those are really the four things." — Brad Feld

"I personally don't like North Star language because North Star kind of feels like it's unchanging. Anybody that's ever built a company knows that where you're heading evolves." — Brad Feld

"Keep learning and keep figuring things out and keep learning from mistakes and keep evolving where you're going, and doing it in a way where your ears are really open to the feedback you're getting." — Brad Feld

 
 

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