Brad Feld is a veteran venture capital investor, co-founder of Foundry and Techstars, and the co-author of Startup Boards, among many other books. We discuss his personal journey, from his early life and entry into VC during the internet boom, to co-founding Techstars and helping build hundreds of startups and their boards. Brad shares insights from Startup Boards and reflects on the importance of board dynamics, effective composition, and the evolving expectations of independent directors.
(0:00) Intro
(1:36) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel
(2:23) Start of interview
(3:11) Brad's origin story
(4:54) Venture Capital Beginnings
(5:39) The Rise of the Internet
(8:10) His role in Softbank Technology Ventures and later Mobius Venture Capital. Reference to Heidi Roizen E6, E108 and E116
(12:26) Transition to Techstars and Foundry
(13:36) Origin and focus of his book Startup Boards. Reference to his blog post: Feld Thoughts. "Boards (and board members) for private companies operate on a bell curve" (some are excellent, some are horrific, and most are average).
(15:31) The Evolution of Founder-Friendly Terms
(30:06) Effective Board Composition
(35:00) Defining a Great Board: the Board as a Team. Reference to Matt Blumberg's Rule of 1s: see E52 (2022)
(38:05) "The goal of the board is to get different skill sets around the table" "I think a founder should fight against investors having additional observer seats."
(41:13) Why he considers it a red flag when a director claims they're acting out of "fiduciary duty." *Reference to the Startup Litigation Digest
(44:50) Governance concerns in the AI Boom
(47:37) Books that have greatly influenced his life:
(50:05) His mentors: Len Fassler and his uncle, Charlie Feld.
(51:55) Quotes that he thinks of often or lives his life by: from his Dad: "If you're not standing on the edge, you're taking up too much space.", from Len: "Brad, they can't kill you and they can't eat you. Suit up."
(53:00) An unusual habit or an absurd thing that he loves. "I love philanthropically funding bathrooms." Also, the Banana Lounge at MIT.
(55:38) The living person he most admires: his wife Amy Batchelor.
Brad Feld has been an early-stage investor and entrepreneur since 1987. He co-founded two venture capital firms, Foundry Group and Mobius Venture Capital, and multiple companies, including Techstars.