Today Brad Feld did a great video chat with 50 entrepreneurs at the Atlanta Tech Village. Kyle Porter ran the event asking a number of questions directly as well as coordinating audience questions. Here are a few notes from Brad Feld’s talk:
- Corporate culture should simply be called culture and the word “corporate” should be dropped
- Culture is paramount to everything and is one of the reasons Gnip was able to execute so well and get acquired by Twitter for a large sum
- Culture isn’t one size fits all — it’s critical that’s it’s defined and consistent in a company (some companies have a strong culture of nice people and other companies have a strong culture of people who routinely yell at each other)
- Startup communities must be lead by entrepreneurs and not government or universities
- Startup communities need to be inclusive of everyone and let all types of events and groups form (plant a thousand seeds and some will take root while others don’t)
- Foundary Group takes a thematic approach to investing and will invest anywhere geographically
- Brad has published a number of books including Ventures Deals, Startup Communities, and Do More Faster
A big thanks to Brad for doing the event and to the Metro Atlanta Chamber for providing lunch to all the attendees.
What else? What are some other thoughts on Brad Feld’s talk at the Atlanta Tech Village?
David Cummings on Startups 
Brad offered a nice Twist on Pay It Forward: think about how to help others first (and good will happen to you – even if you don’t know exactly how). [And, that “Be Nice” is part of the culture of the Village.]
Dan – nice catch on the link between “Pay It Forward” and “Give Before You Get.” They are definitely cousins!