Do More Faster in India

by Feld, Brad

• ISBN13: 9781119699187
• ISBN10: 1119699185
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2020-05-12
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc

Summary

Do you dream of taking your Indian startup to new heights? Turn that dream into a reality!

David Cohen, cofounder and Managing Partner of Techstars, and Brad Feld, cofounder of Techstars and Managing Partner of Foundry Group, team up to focus on the rapidly expanding Indian marketplace, bringing their years of shared experience to entrepreneurs, investors, and community ecosystem developers.

Do More Faster India educates readers on all the major areas of creating, developing, and supercharging a young startup with a focus on the nuances of the Indian market and how Techstars is fostering new business opportunities in India.

Each chapter is written by a different mentor or founder involved with the Techstars program and provides a unique perspective on the seven themes at the core of the Techstars mission:

• Ideas and Vision
• People
• Working Effectively
• Product
• Fundraising
• Legal and Structure
• Work and Life Harmony

With a renewed focus on one of the most influential emerging markets in the world, Do More Faster India includes chapters written by Indian entrepreneurs and dedicated to India-specific topics and culture, as well as how Techstars fits into and serves the increasingly powerful Indian audience.

Author Biography

DAVID COHEN is the cofounder and Managing Partner of Techstars. He has founded several software and web technology companies, including Pinpoint Technologies, which was acquired by ZOLL Medical Corporation. He lives in Boulder, Colorado with the coolest girl he's ever met (his wife) and their children.

BRAD FELD is an early-stage investor, entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist. He is cofounder of Techstars and Foundry Group and is the author or co-author of eleven books including Venture Deals, Startup Communities, and The Startup Community Way. A tireless advocate of the Boulder Thesis, Brad mentors hundreds of entrepreneurs and community leaders in building vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Table of Contents

(Roman Numerals)

1 Foreword

2 Preface

3 About Techstars

4 Foreword, India Version

5 Introduction, India Version

6 Why Entrepreneurs in India Need Techstars

7 Mentor-Backed Entrepreneurship in India

8 Legal Tips for Indian Startups

(Arabic Numbering and Original Do More Faster 2e content)

Introduction

Chapter 1: Do More Faster

David Cohen, Techstars

Chapter 2: Do or Do Not, There Is No Try

Brad Feld, Foundry Group

Theme One: Idea and Vision

Chapter 3: Trust Me, Your Idea Is Worthless

Tim Ferriss, 4-Hour Workweek

Chapter 4: Start With Your Passion

Kevin Mann, Graphic.ly

Chapter 5: Look for the Pain

Isaac Saldana, SendGrid

Chapter 6: Get Feedback Early

Nate Abbott and Natty Zola, Everlater

Chapter 7: Usage Is Like Oxygen for Ideas

Matt Mullenweg, WordPress

Chapter 8: Forget the Kitchen Sink

David Cohen, Techstars

Chapter 9: Find That One Thing They Love

Darren Crystal, Photobucket

Chapter 10: Don’t Plan. Prototype!

Greg Reinacker, Newsgator

Chapter 11: You Never Need Another Original Idea

 Niel Robertson, Trada

Chapter 12: Get It Out There

Sean Corbett, HaveMyShift

Chapter 13: Avoid Tunnel Vision

 Bijan Sabet, Spark Capital

Chapter 14: Focus

 Jared Polis, State of Colorado

Chapter 15: Iterate Again

Colin Angle, iRobot

Chapter 16: Fail Fast

Alex White, Next Big Sound

Chapter 17: Pull the Plug When You Know It's Time

 Paul Berberian, Zenie Bottle

Chapter 18: Love Doesn’t Scale, or Does it?

Nicole Glaros, Techstars

Chapter 19: Reconciling Vision and Focus

David Cohen, Techstars

Theme Two: People

Chapter 20: Be Open to Randomness

David Cohen, Techstars

Chapter 21: Entrepreneurship is a Group Sport

Mark O’Sullivan, Vanilla

Chapter 22: Avoid Cofounder Conflict

Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot

Chapter 23: Hire People Better than You

Will Herman

Chapter 24: How to Find and Engage Mentors

David Cohen, Techstars

Chapter 25: Hire Slowly, Fire Quickly

Matt Blumberg, Return Path

Chapter 26: If You Can Quit, You Should

Laura Fitton, Oneforty

Chapter 27: Build a Balanced Team

Alex White, Next Big Sound

Chapter 28: Startups Seek Friends

Micah Baldwin, Graphic.ly

Chapter 29: Engage Great Mentors

Emily Olson, Foodzie

Chapter 30: The Mentor Manifesto

David Cohen, Techstars

Chapter 31: Define Your Culture

Greg Gottesman, Pioneer Square Labs

Chapter 32: Two Strikes and You Are Out

Brad Feld, Foundry Group

Chapter 33: Karma Matters

Warren Katz, MAK Technologies

Theme Three: Working Effectively

Chapter 34: Assume that You're Wrong

Howard Diamond, Performance One Media

Chapter 35: Make Decisions Quickly

Ari Newman, Filtrbox

Chapter 36: It's Just Data

Bill Warner, Avid Technologies

Chapter 37: Use Your Head, then Trust Your Gut

Ryan McIntyre, Excite.com

Chapter 38: Progress Equals Validated Learning

Eric Ries, Lean Startup Methodology

Chapter 39: The Plural of Anecdote Is Not Data

Brad Feld, Foundry Group

Chapter 40: Don't Suck at Email

David Cohen, Techstars

Chapter 41: Use What's Free

Jason Seats, Techstars

Chapter 42: Be Tiny Until You Shouldn't Be

Jeffrey Powers, Occipital

Chapter 43: Don't Celebrate the Wrong Things

Rob Johnson, EventVue

Chapter 44: Be Specific

Brad Feld, Foundry Group

Chapter 45: Learn from Your Failures

Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures

Chapter 46: Quality over Quantity

Andy Smith, DailyBurn

Chapter 47: Have a Bias Toward Action

Ben Casnocha, Village Global

Theme Four: Product

Chapter 48: Don't Wait Until You Are Proud of Your Product

 Ajay Kulkarni and Andy Cheung, Sensobi

Chapter 49: Find Your Whitespace

Raj Aggarwal, Localytics

Chapter 50: Focus on What Matters

Dick Costolo, Twitter

Chapter 51: Obsess over Metrics

Dave McClure

Chapter 52: Avoid Distractions

Andy Sack, Founder’s Co-op

Chapter 53: Know Your Customer

Bill Flagg, RegOnline

Chapter 54: Beware the Big Companies

Michael Zeisser, XO Group

Chapter 55: Throw Things Away

Eric Marcoullier, OneTrueFan

Chapter 56: Pivot

Rob Hayes, First Round Capital

Theme Five: Fundraising

Chapter 57: There's More than One Way to Raise Money

Brad Feld, Foundry Group

Chapter 58: Beware of Angel Investors Who Aren't

David Cohen, Techstars

Chapter 59: Don't Forget about Bootstrapping

David Brown, Techstars

Chapter 60: You Don't Have to Raise Money

Joe Aigboboh and Jesse Tevelow, PlayQ

Chapter 61: Seed Investors Care about Three Things

Jeff Clavier, Uncork Capital

Chapter 62: Practice Like You Play

Alex White, Next Big Sound

Chapter 63: If You Want Money, Ask for Advice

Nicole Glaros, Techstars

Chapter 64: Show, Don't Tell

Brad Feld, Foundry Group

Chapter 65: Turn the Knife after You Stick It in

David Cohen, Techstars

Chapter 66: Don't Overoptimize on Valuations

Kirk Holland, Access Venture Partners

Chapter 67: Get Help with Your Term Sheet

Jason Mendelson, Foundry Group

Chapter 68: Focus on the First One-Third

Brad Feld, Foundry Group

Theme Six: Legal and Structure

Chapter 69: Choose the Right Company Structure

Brad Feld, Foundry Group

Chapter 70: Form the Company Early

Brad Bernthal, University of Colorado

Chapter 71: Default to Delaware

Jon Taylor, KO

Chapter 72: Lawyers Don't Have to Be Expensive

Michael Platt, Cooley LLP

Chapter 73: Vesting Is Good for You

Jon Fox, Intense Debate

Chapter 74: Your Brother-in-Law Is Probably Not the Right Corporate Lawyer

Brad Feld, Foundry Group

Chapter 75: To 83(b) or Not to 83(b), There Is No Question

Matt Galligan, Socialthing

Theme Seven: Work–Life Harmony

Chapter 76: Discover Work–Life Harmony

Brad Feld, Foundry Group

Chapter 77: Practice Your Passion

Eran Egozy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Chapter 78: Follow Your Heart

Mark Solon, Techstars

Chapter 79: Turn Work into Play

Howard Lindzon, StockTwits

Chapter 80: Don’t Make Yourself Indispensable

David Cohen, Techstars

Chapter 81: Get Out From Behind Your Computer

Seth Levine, Foundry Group

Chapter 82: Stay Healthy

 Andy Smith, DailyBurn

Chapter 83: Get Away from It All

 Amy Batchelor, Anchor Point Foundation

Conclusion

Appendix 1: The Evolution of Techstars

What Motivated Me to Start Techstars?

Why Techstars Started in Boulder

How Techstars Came to Boston

How Techstars Came to Seattle

So You Want to Start a Techstars Accelerator in Your Community or Company?

Techstars in 2019 and Beyond

Techstars Foundation: Increasing Diversity in Entrepreneurship

Appendix 2: Original Edition - Foreward

Appendix 3: Where are the Techstars Companies Now?

About the Authors

Acknowledgments

Index