Brad Feld, co-founder of Techstars and a partner at Foundry, joined Jeff Reid, founding director of Georgetown Entrepreneurship, for a fireside chat at Georgetown about his book Give First. A student associate with the Entrepreneurship in Health Initiative introduced the session, which drew members of the Washington startup community.
Feld reflected on his earlier book Startup Communities and said the purpose of a startup community is “to help founders succeed.” He described Give First as a philosophy built on relationships that are non-transactional, positive sum and multi-turn, and told the story of his early investment in the first Techstars program. He explained that he backs founders when he cares about the problem, when they want a long partnership, and when he can help. He also discussed the role of policymakers in supporting entrepreneurs and urged listeners to show up, be curious and ask questions.