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Mentor Manifesto 18/18 - Have Empathy. Remember that startups are hard.

on Thu, 02/07/2019 - 02:14

This is the final post (18) of the Techstars Mentor Manifesto. As with item 17, Brad Feld let me complete the list with my own submission for this final item.

During one of the Techstars Boston cohorts where I’ve been Mentor-in-Residence, I worked with a 20-something CEO founder (code named Mary) who, shortly after raising a seed round of several million dollars, hired a high-powered exec, granting a significant equity option.

Mentor Manifesto 17/18 - Be Challenging/Robust but Never Destructive

on Wed, 02/06/2019 - 14:29

Brad Feld wrote 16 posts detailing each item of the Techstars Mentor Manifesto. However, there are 18 items in the manifesto and he never got around to writing the final two.

I prodded him several times; but after a year without the posts appearing from him, I volunteered to write them; and he has graciously accepted them for the final two installments.

This is item #17 of the Techstars Mentor Manifesto.


This item on the list might sound very similar to #4, “Be Direct. Tell the Truth, However Hard.” But, it’s different. This item (#17) has to do with you, not the companies.

You have been

Viewpoint follows role: 2013 in review

on Thu, 12/26/2013 - 08:45

I left Acquia in the capable hands of its current management team last December after I had the fortunate experience to be tightly connected to TechStars during the Fall 2012 class. That involvement made me wonder whether there might be a business opportunity in building an accelerator for companies using Drupal as a technology platform, and I left Acquia to follow that idea. Fortunately for me, the TS Boston Managing Directors, Katie Rae & Reed Sturtevant, let me sit closely "inside the tent" (their excellent term) that fall to dig deep.

In the end, I decided not build a Drupal accelerator.