Brad Feld, a founding parter of the $4 billion Boulder, Colo-based Foundry Group.
Foundry Group
When Seth Levine and I were on our first book tour, for The New Builders, we stopped in Maine, to give a talk at the Roux Institute. In response to a question from the audience about how to help build an entrepreneurial ecosystem, Seth talked about the concept of “giving first,” meaning, contribute to your ecosystem without worrying so much about what you’ll get in return.
As he spoke, the women entrepreneurs in the audience looked down at their hands and started shuffling papers. It wasn’t that they didn’t believe in Give First, it was that women’s contributions often aren’t appropriately valued: In the business world, they give first, but sometimes NEVER get anything back. And sometimes men who think they are benefitting the community by giving first are, without thinking about it, mostly benefitting those whom the community treats justly.
When I spoke, I shared my observation of the way women had reacted, knowing that Give First didn’t work fully for them. The conversation got real at that moment, and we were able to engage in a dialogue about what it means to give without being taken advantage of, how people who feel de-valued need to speak out, and how people who believe they are giving need to listen.
Give First is a great philosophy, but it is complicated. Brad Feld, Seth’s partner at The Foundry Group, has written a book titled Give First, and kindly sent me a copy over the summer. I read it, and was grateful for it. It defines an ethos of Give First that is useful for men and women:
To “Give First” means being willing to put energy into a relationship or system without defining the transactional parameters. However, it’s not altruism. You can and should expect to get something back. But you don’t know when, from whom, in what form, in over what time frame.
Broadly speaking, the first half of this formula, the part about giving first, is important for many men to absorb. The second half, the part about expecting something in return, is important for many women.
How To Be A Worthwhile Success
Give First explores a few themes: the mindset described above; being a mentor, and how to give to the system or community you’re in. By the end of the book, I felt I was reading a guide to how to make the most of your life after you’ve succeeded financially.
Hands-on Advice For Being a Mentor
Ask open-ended questions: Instead of “is this customer important?” ask “Which customers are you interested in?” Your goal shouldn’t be to help the mentee solve a problem, but to build a toolkits to solve future problems.
Set yourself up to listen. Feld shares the story of how he almost missed an investment in Fitbit. He was distracted by a looming snowstorm when talked to the founder, James Park, and thought that Park was flat and unexciting. He passed on the investment – and only lucked out because several friends told him he’d made a mistake. He got a second chance nine months later. He turned the interview into a Q&A, which meant that he was listening more attentively. He made the investment.
Be open to randomness. In a way, the most heartening tip because it implies that it’s OK to let go sometimes; good things will still happen! But being open to randomness isn’t the same thing as not working hard, which becomes clear as the next idea comes into focus.
Answer every email. Feld says he answers every email, and describes working 12-hour days when the situations calls for it, such as, in the early days of his career, trying to save a public company called Interliant, and more recently, the early days of covid. It’s astonishing how many CEOs over the years have told me that this is a personal rule.
One Piece of Advice for Networkers: How To Write Emails
Feld says if someone emails him for a networking coffee, he gives them an assignment to look over the companies in Foundry Group’s portfolio to pick out a few that are most interesting. About half the people who emailed in the first place never respond. Emails that have a specific request, like “how can I become a Techstars mentor,” are a better way to kick off an exchange. Emails that let Feld know that someone he previously interacted with took action to benefit the Boulder community, he says, are amazing.
Colorized illustration of Sephardic Jewish philosopher Mosheh ben Maimon (also known as Maimonides, 1135 – 1204), undated. (Photo by Science Source/Photo Researchers History/Getty Images)
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Create Your Community: Entrepreneurial Tzedekah
Maimonides, the ancient Jewish philosopher, described eight levels of giving. The highest level is to help an individual become self-reliant, such as by establishing them in business, giving them a loan or finding them work. This is obviously aligned with the entrepreneurial philanthropy practiced by Feld, my co-author Seth Levine and others. In Give First, Feld writes about how excited he was to explore this alignment. “Write a check and invest in at least one company. It doesn’t matter what size check you write. Whatever you are comfortable with. But pick at least one company and fund them. Commit today. Think of it as a charitable donation. In your worst case, you get a tax deduction. In your best case, you make a bunch of money you can then invest in other startups.”
It’s precisely (though not oppositionally) different than the Pauline giving that many foundations and churches elevate. The highest form of charity as defined by the Apostle Paul is to give in a spirit of self-sacrifice. In existing in a sort of gray zone between philanthropy and business, Maimonides’ highest level is also in opposition to the way philanthropy has been practiced traditionally: Make a lot of money in business, and then give it away.
Feld also writes about Pledge 1%, a national movement that was launched by Ryan Martens, Seth, Scott Farquar from Atlassian and Susanne DiBianca and Marc Benioff from Salesforce, along with a few others. Pledge 1% is an example of Pauline giving, though with boundaries: Companies pledge to set aside 1% of their equity for their communities. It’s generated $3 billion of impact, according to the organization.
There are lots of models for giving: The point is to find a way of thinking that inspires a group of people to give and work together toward a common good. In Give First, Feld found a sweet spot: a model of giving that appeals to entrepreneurs, men and women, who are some of the most powerful doers in the world.