David Cohen Quotes
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Our goal is simply to make entrepreneurship more accessible to everyone around the world throughout the entrepreneurial journey, from inspiration to IPO.
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Meetings with no goal, also known as 'coffee shop' meetings, can be huge time wasters if you're not efficient with them. 'Always know why you're meeting, and make sure it's important - try to keep them to 30 minutes, max.
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Because one of the main jobs of a CEO is to set the vision and strategy for the company, I'm a big believer in making one of the founders the default CEO.
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Aspiring entrepreneurs are often advised to work at a startup for a couple of years first, to understand what's involved. But often, each company's approach to success is very narrow. So my advice is, 'Just do it.'
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Focusing on the right priorities can help you do more faster.
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We think of the Techstars product as not really the accelerator but the network. That's what entrepreneurs should be valuing here. I think it's the most undervalued thing that many entrepreneurs don't get.
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Deciding whether or not to bring in an outside CEO is one of the most gut-wrenching decisions that a founder will ever need to make.
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We're pretty broad as investors. Our thesis is work with great entrepreneurs that believe they can change the world. But there are specific areas that we get excited about - areas like hard tech, deep tech, companies that deal with really difficult technology, etc.
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There's no law that says you have to do what your mentor suggests. And the sooner you learn how to say 'no' confidently, the easier it will be to manage these key relationships.
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I think motivation and drive, coupled with raw talent, help make founders successful.
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In Boulder entrepreneurship circles, there is a genuine desire to see others succeed and a general belief that karma matters. There's a sense that together we're building something here, and that we're all a meaningful part of it.
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The hot deal is often the one that does not work.
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I had to quit a 'real job' to start my first company.
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I think there are ways that perhaps organic partnerships can occur in local geographies with groups that are extremely focused on their communities. That's really how Techstars began, as a grassroots movement in Boulder, Colo., that happened to catch fire and expand around the world.
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Ultimately, even if you follow the advice of a mentor or board member, it's still your fault if they were wrong!
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Techstars has done a great job accelerating and providing venture capital to the most promising companies to make the biggest long-term economic impact.
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I had done six or eight traditional angel investments and basically just thought it sucked.
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Going public is one step in the life cycle of a company; it's not the last step.
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I'm most proud of helping so many others achieve their dreams as founders.
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In the rare cases where I've had to cut a company loose, I just tell them why and wish them luck and hope they learn something from it. I don't spend more mental energy on it than I have to, and I try very hard not to hold a grudge or try to negatively affect them either. It's just done for me.
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Consumers have zero time for products that are not simple, intuitive, and attractive to use. This is especially true with Internet products, where clean and useful design is a prerequisite to keeping anyone on your site for more than 30 seconds.
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We believe that startups can be built anywhere.
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Ultimately, we measure ourselves on the success of our investments.
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My attitude is there are at least hundreds of interesting startups that are going to get going in every year.