On Monday, I walked into my office to find it filled, and I do mean filled to head height, with balloons. Check out the video of us frolicking in my balloon office.
Wait, what? Who would do such a thing?
Read More »Author: Nicole Glaros
The Startup Playbook
At Techstars, through our accelerator programs, we work with close to 400 companies a year across 5 continents. Through Startup Weekend and Startup Week, – the numbers are in the thousands of companies. But yet we can’t help them all.
However when two of our mentors told me they were writing a book on the topic, I got excited – because content does scale. Every company could be helped by their book.
The book is The Startup Playbook, and the two mentors are Rajat Bhargava and Will Herman. Between the two of them, they’ve run almost 15 companies, with 6 exits, 2 IPOs, dozens of investments – they’ve seen close to ‘it all’.
They’ve tried to encapsulate their learnings into a book that starts from even before the seed of an idea. It starts by asking the question of whether a startup is right for you. Then, it drops into building out an idea, assembling a team, raising money, and the on-going execution.
It’s a refreshing book that sides with entrepreneurs and shares that perspective. If you are a founder or on a startup team, I highly recommend you grab a copy*. You might walk away with some new insights that will change the trajectory of your business. On sale this week only for $.99 at Amazon!
*Disclaimer for the cynics out there: I do not get affiliate sales from this – I just think Raj & Will’s book is THAT GOOD.
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
I am surrounded by change, in fact my very career in tech entrepreneurship bets on change. But sometimes we don’t fully understand the impact of our actions and our innovations. And in tech, we have been accused (rightfully so) of not understanding how the rest of the world lives. The tech bubble isn’t just economic, its also a bubble of perspective. Case in point, this hit me hard when Trump was elected because I couldn’t fathom anyone believing he would make a good president.
Since then, I’ve made a commitment to expanding my own awareness and getting out of the tech bubble. I am in a unique position where getting this exposure doesn’t have to be hard, and I just need to pick my head up to look around. If successful, maybe, just maybe I can help “sides” better understand each others perspectives.
That’s why I’m pleased to share that I’ve joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Economic Advisory Council. Our role on the EAC is to help inform the Federal Reserve Bank’s leadership about regional trends, concerns, and opportunities. Helping the Fed understand the sentiment and trends of tech – I can do that – especially given I’m standing amidst the maelström that is crypto-currency, investing, startups, and entrepreneurship.
However the thing I’m most excited about is learning how the Fed thinks and works, and hearing from my peers in the non-tech ecosystems. How does hospitality feel about the current state of affairs? Construction? Transportation? Agriculture? What are the trends affecting those industries that I might not be aware of because I’m submerged in tech? What does the government really think of our economy today? How do the checks and balances put in place really work?
I’m on a perspective quest, and joining the Kansas City Fed’s EAC is just one step of many in expanding my awareness.
If you’re in the Denver area and would like to have your opinion represented at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, shoot me an email with your thoughts and I’ll ensure they get represented.
How connected are we, really?
I’ve been thinking a lot about the word connectivity.
In tech, we use the word ‘connectivity’ to talk about our devices – how our devices connect to the internet and to each other. As one who travels a lot, connectivity is my tether to work and home. I can survive without my cell connection, but sever my data connection and much is lost. I can’t check my email, I can’t work, I can’t see if that company’s round is closing or what startups we decided to invest in or sign that board agreement. I can’t FaceTime or text with my kids, can’t see the news, can’t check in on Twitter or Facebook. I have no idea what’s happening in the world around me. Being connected to the internet helps me support not just a few investments and Techstars programs – but hundreds. Being connected to the internet broadens my reach from what’s immediately around my physical person – to the global reach that Techstars has across 5 continents, 500+ cities, and 100+ countries. Connectivity helps me scale my productivity.
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CTEK to grant over $600K to non-profits helping entrepreneurs – deadline 11/30!
The TLDR version:
If you are a non-profit with a mission to help entrepreneurs, apply for a grant from CTEK by November 30, 2017 for grants up to $600K!
The longer version:
Before Techstars even existed, I got plugged into the entrepreneurial scene in Colorado through a small accelerator called CTEK.
I was fresh off a startup and didn’t want to replicate the errors I had previously made. I was (and am) “unemployable” meaning there’s no real job description that fits me and I wasn’t used to working for others. But I found a small and local org named CTEK, who claimed to help entrepreneurs through an advisory model, and thought I could learn what NOT to do my text time around the startup block. I applied for a VP of Marketing job there that I had no business getting, so was understandably rejected for the role. I’m not one who takes no for an answer, so I decided to stalk (not creepy stalk!) the CEO – a woman named Lu Cordova. I saw her speak at an event in Boulder, cornered her afterwards and gently informed her that while I understood why I was rejected for the role, I wasn’t going away, so she might as well find something useful for me to do, even if unpaid.
So I started hanging around CTEK which eventually turned into a full-time gig and a lifelong friendship with Lu Cordova and many others who were involved in those days. Together, we grew that office from 1-4 across the state and started Colorado’s first organized angel investor network called CTEK Angels. We scaled from helping a dozen or so companies a year to over a hundred. We had a great portfolio of companies, held events, and utilized an advisory model to help the companies get to the next level. It was through CTEK that I met David Cohen & Brad Feld, and I distinctly remember the day that David Cohen came into CTEK to pitch us the idea of Techstars. I loved CTEK, it was a springboard for me and put me squarely in the middle of the embryonic tech scene in Colorado. But CTEK had issues with it’s model, and the idea that David Cohen pitched us for Techstars was a tweak on the CTEK model that eliminated all it’s issues. I left CTEK not long after that to join another startup, and then started hanging around Techstars in 2008. The rest is my history at Techstars. Much of what Techstars is today is from what I learned at CTEK – so while the two companies aren’t necessarily related, they hold me in common.
Fast forward to today – CTEK is a non-profit who’s mission was to help entrepreneurs in Colorado succeed. It’s funding came from sponsors and government dollars (and the tireless effort of Lu Cordova) – but also through an investment model where we invested resources in exchange for a small monthly fee and a convertible debt note in each startup we supported. Over the years we built a very healthy portfolio – and the exits from that portfolio has sustained the organization to this day.
But last month, the board of CTEK has decided that it’s mission has been fulfilled – that there are other organizations (like Techstars!) who now carry that torch in Colorado. So CTEK is officially shuttering it’s doors. Those of us in the scale years of CTEK (including people like Lu Cordova, me, Mark Feuer, Stephen Miller, Mike Murphy, and others) have come together to help ensure the assets of the organization land with a non-profit that carries the same mission – to help entrepreneurs.
For us, it’s a happy end of an era, where we look back at the seeds we have sown and are proud. When we compare where Colorado was when we started, and where it was today, we know that we’ve played a big hand in diversifying Colorado from ranching and mining into the next century. And we’ve made great friends along the way.
I’m proud and honored to sit on the board that will help CTEK allocate it’s existing cash balance to a non-profit that can continue to carry the torch of CTEK. For me, this is no easy feat because I’m close with many non-profits that support entrepreneurship – including the Techstars Foundation, Pledge1%, and Patriot Boot Camp. But fear not, I will recuse myself of voting for organizations of which I have a conflict.
If you are a non-profit that supports entrepreneurship and has an element of scale, I invite you to apply for a grant between $10k-$600K. Deadline for applications is November 30 – apply today.
Shel Silverstein’s boundless genius and the eclipse
Shel Silverstein is a hero of mine, his writing always speaks to me with its multi-layered meanings, rhyme, and rhythm. I think it’s hard enough having to write something with substance, but when you add rhythm and rhyme to it, it becomes genius.
Given today’s eclipse, it would be àpropos to share his poem “A Battle in the Sky” which comes from his famous book Falling Up. I read this book regularly to my children and find the same amount of joy in it that they do. If you haven’t read any of his poetry books recently, I highly recommend it, for adults and children alike.
A Battle in the Sky
It wasn’t quite day and it wasn’t quite night,
‘Cause the sun and the moon were both in sight,
A situation quite all right
With everyone else but them.So they both made remarks about who gave more light
And who was the brightest and prettiest sight,
And the sun gave a bump and the moon a bite,
And the terrible sky fight began.With a scorch and a sizzle, a screech and a shout,
Across the great heavens they tumbled about,
And the moon had a piece of the sun in its month,
While the sun burned the face of the moon.And when it was over the moon was rubbed red,
And the sun ha a very bad lump on its head,
And all the next night the moon stayed home in bed,
And the sun didn’t come out ‘til noon.
Shel Silverstein
We bought a bed.
Today marks a monumental day in Mark (husband!) and my life.
We bought a bed.
Now, I know this doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it is. Our mattress has been sitting on plastic-wrapped box springs, on the floor, for 5 years. Prior to that, our old mattress was on one of those free frames that come with the mattress when you bought it, and I think it was the same frame I got in college.
The bed represents the first piece of furniture we actually *bought* in our adult lives. You know, something that we didn’t get on Craigslist, or Ikea, or was a hand-me-down or gift of some sort. In fact, the Ikea furniture that’s currently in our master bedroom replaced a used, falling-apart dresser that I literally bought for $20 FROM THE CLASSIFIED SECTION OF THE NEWSPAPER when I was a sophomore in college. It was that old.
Read More »We need more people like Phil Weiser
Phil Weiser is running for Colorado Attorney General and he is a man we should all support with our time, money, and voices.
I’ve known Phil for nearly a decade. Phil has demonstrated, time and time again, his commitment to the best interests of our community. Among other things, he’s worked on Governor Ritter’s Innovation Council, was critical to bringing the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network to CO, and when he was Dean of the CU Law school, he successfully pioneered an entrepreneurial program at CU that successfully integrates the local business community. (Imagine that, law and entrepreneurship!) More importantly, he’s already working to transform the government from the inside out through the Governmental Entrepreneurial Leadership Accelerator (of which I am a quasi-mentor) which takes motivated individuals inside of the government and gives them resources to make big changes with civic issues.
Through his list of accomplishments, you can see that Phil knows how to execute. But looking more closely, you can see that Phil is phenomenal at navigating complex situations between powerful institutions and groups that result in a mutually beneficial outcome for all. He knows how to drive positive change and collaboration among people because Phil’s values and motives are in the right place. He is one of the best humans on the planet, and individuals like Phil will be the catalyst to getting our government on the right foot. With Phil in a leadership role in our government, great things can and will happen.
When Trump was elected, I vowed to get more involved in our government. For me, this means supporting individuals that I know bring the right qualities to office and that I trust to make hard decisions. Phil is that guy.
Consider donating your time, voice, or dollars to help Phil’s campaign.
Learn the art of the venture deal
If you’re an entrepreneur looking to raise capital – understanding the terms in venture deals is critical. Having legal counsel is important, however it’s your startup, so you’re ultimately responsible for the outcome of any deal. Given VCs and investors have a lot of practice because they do many deals a year, you generally will be outgunned because you just don’t have the same level of experience.
Brad Feld & Jason Mendelson helped level the playing field when they published the book Venture Deals. But if you want to practice – if you want to really turn information into knowledge, then take the Venture Deals course (it’s free!). You’ll build a team and work on elements of a venture deal with your teammates. The course runs about 6 weeks long and starts on May 14th. It’s great for both the novice and experienced entrepreneur (and investor) – I took the class last time and will be auditing it again just as a refresher!
Thanks to Brad & Jason for creating the content, and thanks to Techstars, Kauffman Fellows, & NovoEd for providing the resources necessary to make this course free and available to the general public.
Techstars Anywhere
Because Techstars helps entrepreneurs succeed, we’re committed to our own innovation efforts (just like companies in our portfolio). So in January I took a new role as Chief Innovation Officer at Techstars – and I’m excited to share with you the first project we’re launching out of the Innovation team. Techstars has a long-held belief that startups should be able to build their companies anywhere they choose to live – but a limitation of our accelerator programs is that you have to temporarily relocate to the program. We lose out on helping many great startups who simply cannot relocate for 3 months.
This week, alongside Ryan Kuder & Karina Costa, we launched a BETA effort called Techstars Anywhere, which brings the program to the startup, instead of the other way around. It’s a virtualized version of our existing program, and with 4 companies located in 4 different locations – we’re testing how well we can bring the network to the companies, rather than the companies to the network.
We’re excited to learn how to best support entrepreneurs, no matter what city or country they live in. Read more about the program on the Techstars blog here!
Nearly Nicole 