{"id":579865,"date":"2010-05-26T18:13:16","date_gmt":"2010-05-26T22:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=121572"},"modified":"2010-05-26T18:13:16","modified_gmt":"2010-05-26T22:13:16","slug":"video-internet-investor-brad-feld-on-the-changing-dynamics-of-startup-investments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/579865","title":{"rendered":"Video: Internet Investor Brad Feld on the Changing Dynamics of Startup Investments"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"With the rise of new angel investors and early-stage venture funds, the venture capital industry is going through a revival, according to Brad Feld, one of the founders of the Boulder, Colo.-based VC firm, Foundry Group<\/a>. “It’s back to the basics,” Feld told me during a video interview in which I discovered that both of us love Robert Graham’s somewhat over-the-top shirts. Feld is a great interview subject, mostly because he marches to the beat of a drum that is uniquely his own.<\/p>\n

After all, it’s not every day you get to talk to someone whose startup investments spawned esoterically labeled sectors such as “Glue,” “Human Computer Interaction,” “Protocol” and “Disruption” by backing companies such as Oblong, Memeo, PogoPlug, SimpleGeo and Zynga. Foundry also invested in Sling Media, which was subsequently acquired by Echostar for $380 million.<\/a><\/p>\n

During a 20-minute video chat he talks about his journey from Boston to Boulder and says that while it isn’t important for an investor to be in an early-stage startup’s proximity, it is important to be in the flow of things. His approach is unusual; the conventional wisdom on Sand Hill Road is to invest in companies that are within driving range.<\/p>\n

We also discussed the myths of entrepreneurship, notably why sometimes people look at first-time successes such as Mark Zuckerberg and forget that entrepreneurship is a life-long endeavor, not a “two-year game.” We also talked about why fewer and fewer people think about the long term at all, instead focusing just on what’s coming up next.<\/p>\n

After our conversation was over, it occurred to me: Feld talks the same way he writes on his blog, Feld Thoughts. <\/a><\/p>\n

Here are some of the gems from our conversation, which include some great advice for startups and entrepreneurs:<\/p>\n