Brad Feld
| Brad Feld | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Residence | Boulder, Colorado, United States |
| Education | MIT |
| Occupation | Venture Capitalist, Author |
| Spouse(s) | Amy Batchelor |
Brad Feld (born December 1, 1965) is an American entrepreneur, author, blogger, and venture capitalist at Foundry Group in Boulder, Colorado, a firm he started with partners Seth Levine, Ryan McIntyre, and Jason Mendelson.
Feld began financing technology startups in the early 1990s, first as an angel and later an institutional investor. Feld was an early investor in Harmonix, Zynga, MakerBot, and Fitbit.[1][2][3][4]
Career
In 1987, Feld co-founded Feld Technologies — a software application development firm — while he was a student at MIT.[5] In 1993, the company was acquired by AmeriData, where Feld took the role of chief technology officer.[5][6]
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Feld helped operate Interliant, an application service and hosting provider.[7] Interliant failed in 2002, following the collapse of the dot-com bubble.[8] Feld openly talks about his experience at Interliant, using it as an example of entrepreneurial failure.[1]
Before co-founding Foundry Group in 2007, Feld co-founded VC firms Intensity Ventures and Mobius Venture Capital. After its inaugural $225 million fund, Foundry Group has raised four more funds of $225 million each — in 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2016.[9]
In 2006, Feld helped David Cohen co-found Techstars, an early-stage venture fund and startup accelerator.[10]
Feld serves on the boards of nonprofits National Center for Women & Information Technology, Startup Colorado, and UP Global.
Writing
Since 2005 Feld has been writing on Feld Thoughts, a technology venture blog.[1]
Feld is the author or co-author of a series of books focused on entrepreneurship, technology venture capital, and startups in general.[11]
Personal life
Feld was born in Arkansas and grew up in Dallas, Texas.[12] In 1983 he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to attend MIT. Since 1995 he has lived in Boulder, Colorado with wife and co-author Amy Batchelor.
Views on Legacy
On October 7, 2015, at a talk Brad gave in which he participated in a Q&A session, he was asked "What do you want your legacy to be?", to which he answered: "I don't care what my legacy is". In the comment section of his blog the next day, he added "I care about what I do. I don't care about the notion that it creates a legacy."
Bibliography
- Do More Faster: TechStars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup with David Cohen (2010)
- Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist with Jason Mendelson and Dick Costolo (2011)
- Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City (2012)
- Startup Life: Surviving and Thriving in a Relationship with an Entrepreneur with Amy Batchelor (2013)
- Startup Boards: Getting the Most Out of Your Board of Directors with Mahendra Ramsinghani (2013)
- Startup Metrics: Making Sense of the Numbers in Your Startup with Seth Levine (forthcoming)
References
- 1 2 3 "This Week in Venture Capital - Brad Feld, Managing Director at Foundry Group - YouTube", YouTube, Retrieved on 1 December 2013
- ↑ "Zynga | CrunchBase Profile", CrunchBase, Retrieved on 1 December 2013.
- ↑ "MakerBot | CrunchBase Profile", CrunchBase, Retrieved on 1 December 2013.
- ↑ "Fitbit | CrunchBase Profile", CrunchBase, Retrieved on 1 December 2013.
- 1 2 "Brad Feld: Building A Company Is Like Running A Marathon", Business Insider, Retrieved on 1 December 2013
- ↑ "Brad Feld", Huffington Post, Retrieved on 1 December 2013.
- ↑ "Talking About Failure - Feld Thoughts", Retrieved on 1 December 2013.
- ↑ "Interliant Files Chapter 11; CEO, COO Resign", [CRN Magazine], Retrieved on 1 December 2013.
- ↑ "Foundry Group | CrunchBase Profile", [CrunchBase], Retrieved on 1 December 2013
- ↑ Sweeney, Megan. "Celebrating Seven Years - Techstars", 14 November 2013, Retrieved on 1 December, 2013
- ↑ "Amazon.com: Brad Feld: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle", [Amazon.com], Retrieved on 1 December 2013
- ↑ "Blogger of the Week: Brad Feld | MyVenturePad", 26 March 2009, Retrieved on 1 December 2013