Beyond The Blog: Brad Feld's Burning Entrepreneur - How to Launch, Fund, and Set Your Start-Up On Fire!

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Burning Man, the storied ritual of self-expression, has evolved into The Burning Entrepreneur, the ultimate self-expression through start-up success. Renowned tech investor and start-up guru Brad Feld lights YOU on fire with this insiders book that will teach you how to launch, fund and run your own company. If youre already an entrepreneur or have always dreamed of being one, douse yourself in Feld Thoughts and catch the spark. Youll be burning, entrepreneur, with this e-book!.

Feld Thoughts is a great example of truth in advertising. This blog, which has existed since before blogging was cool, collects the thoughts of Brad Feld, investor, entrepreneur, MIT grad, tech lover and marathoner.

Brads blog is a backstage pass to the 24/7 rock show that is tech startups. It is a master class in startup investing for givers and takers of funds. It is a rolling critique of tech products vast and simple (with enough edge to make the most scathing restaurant critic in Manhattan blush). And it is the journal of a peripatetic marathoner who still believes he will crack the four-hour mark someday.

From such Feld Thoughts, we have constructed The Burning Entrepreneur, the e-book on startups that you would take to a desert island if it had electricity, a decent Internet connection and angel investors. The Burning Entrepreneur illuminates the actions and attitudes required to launch, fund and ignite your startup. Brad Feld is on fire. Find out what happens when you stand too close.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Brad has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for over 20 years. Prior to co-founding Foundry Group, he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures, a company that helped launch and operate software companies. Brad is also a co-founder of TechStars.

Brad currently serves on the board of directors of BigDoor, Cheezburger Networks, Fitbit, Gnip, MakerBot, Oblong, Orbotix, and Standing Cloud for Foundry Group. Previously, Brad served as chief technology officer of AmeriData Technologies. AmeriData acquired Feld Technologies, a firm he founded in 1987 that specialized in custom software applications. Brad had grown Feld Technologies into one of Bostons leading software consulting firms prior to the acquisition. He also directed the diversification into software consulting at AmeriData, a 1.5 billion publicly-traded company which was acquired by GE Capital in 1995.

In addition to his investing efforts, Brad has been active with several non-profit organizations and currently is chair of the National Center for Women & Information Technology, co-chair of Startup Colorado, and on the board of Startup Weekend. Brad is a nationally recognized speaker on the topics of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship and writes the widely read blogs Feld Thoughts and Ask the VC.

Notable companies that Brad has invested in and/or sat on the boards of include Abuzz (acq. NYT), Anyday.com (acq. PALM), Critical Path (CPTH), Cyanea (acq. IBM), Dante Group (acq. WEBM), DataPower (acq. IBM), FeedBurner (acq. by GOOG), Feld Group (acq. by EDS), Gist (acq. RIM), Harmonix (acq. VIA), NetGenesis (IPO), ServiceMagic (acq. IACI), ServiceMetrics (acq. EXDS), and Zynga (ZNGA).

Brad holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Management Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Brad is also an avid art collector and long-distance runner. He has completed 21 marathons as part of his mission to run a marathon in each of the 50 states.

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

So weve set you on fire and told you to toe the nearest precipice. Before you think that being a burning entrepreneur only means taking punishment, lets talk about putting the hurt on others (in a positive business sense).

When thinking about the characteristics of some of my favorite companies, a phrase popped into my head about what ties all of these companies together they are the silent killers.

When I look at the Foundry Group portfolio, weve got a bunch of silent killers in it. They dont spend a lot of time trying to get written up in TechCrunch. They often arent based in the Bay Area. Their CEOs dont run around bloviating about what they are going to do some day. They just do it. And suddenly they are 10 million, or 20 million, or even 50 million revenue companies. Before anyone has really noticed. Without any real competition. They are the unambiguous and dominant market leader.

Sure, their customers and partners know who they are. Other entrepreneurs, especially ones who work with them in some way know who they are. Smart technical folks know who they are. And the geographic community that they are in know who they are since they are often the leaders of their startup communities.

But they sneak up on you. They dont waste their time hyping themselves. They dont run around trying to get VCs interested in what they are doing. Rather, they just do. Their twitter streams are filled with substantive stuff. Their blogs are about their product and how it is used. Their people are everywhere they need to be, and spend almost no time being places they dont need to be.

These are the silent killers. And I love them.

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