Brad Feld

2025 FastTrac + 1MC Summit

The 2025 FastTrac + 1MC Summit was an energizing reunion for generous leaders who make Wednesday our favorite day of the week.

Since 2012, 1 Million Cups has educated, connected, and accelerated entrepreneurs with weekly gatherings throughout the United States. The driving force behind each 1MC community, are teams of volunteer organizers. What made this year’s pilgrimage so special, was that 1MC organizers from 100+ different communities hadn’t all come together since 2019. It was also the first time FastTrac was brewed into the mix and you could feel how much everyone appreciated sharing premium human time.

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Good Relationships = Good Life

Were featured speakers on point? Yes. Were breakouts brewed from within? Yes. Were valuable connections made? For sure. Did everyone learn something? Undoubtedly. Was the event managed in style? Of course. Did everyone have fun? Absolutely.

Fundamentals were brewed, but there’s something uncommon about this tribe. It’s hard to describe the magic. These leaders all come from different environments, yet share a direction. Such diversity kindles beautiful complexity, yet common threads unite us – generosity builds trust and the energy of accelerating others is unmatched. Over time, such leadership unlocks abundance. This allows people in startup communities and organizations within entrepreneurial ecosystems to all do more with less. As a shared, positive sum mindset meets at the crossroads of education and connection, 1MC becomes an inclusive front porch and a true gift that can caffeinate whatever we care about.

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People like us. Do things like this.

That said, running 1MC and/or FastTrac so it feels easy, efficient, and fun is not all rainbows and unicorns. Consistency requires sacrifice, working with others can be tricky, releasing reluctance takes guts, and the long-term nature of community is real. It’s milestone moments like the 2025 FastTrac + 1MC Summit in Kansas City, that remind us how fortunate we are to have something that nobody owns, yet everyone appreciates and all are welcomed. As genuine appreciation is shared, renewed motivation invites us all to stay wild, yet also in harmony.

Thanks again to all who show up, for building together, and for giving first. Below are photos, here’s EP100 of YDNTP with Brad Feld, and while I didn’t focus on film making, the (above) video brews a glimpse into this caffeinated collision. Cheers!

By Ben McDougal, ago

Brad Feld

This Season 2 Finale features an extended conversation (2+ hours) between Brad Feld and Ben McDougal, recorded in the wild, LIVE from the mountains of Boulder, Colorado!

We begin with a rewind on Brad’s own journey, then shift into entrepreneurship, leadership within startup communities, and venture capital in the first hour. Ben teleports to narrate a break with two writings inspired by Brad, then we dive back in for so much more. The origins of Techstars, technology, mentorship, and philosophy is how we land this milestone moment.

As you’ll hear/see, EP100 brews timeless insight for founders and the entrepreneurial lifestyle. Enjoy the full experience, and to make key takeaways easier to share, bookmarks for this extended experience are highlighted below. Cheers to another remarkable season of You Don’t Need This Podcast and let’s keep building… together.

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0:00 – Ben in Boulder
1:30 – Hello Brad Feld
2:30 – Early Experiences
5:15 – Writing First Book
7:00 – Incubator to Accelerator
12:40 – Random Days
29:30 – Startup Communities
36:15 – Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
37:30 – Too Many Referees, Not Enough Boxers
38:15 – Rural Startup Communities
43:30 – Astronomy
45:30 – Positive Sum Games
46:15 – Give First Intrapreneurs
50:45 – J-Curve
52:00 – Venture Capital Timelines
54:00 – Investor Metrics
56:30 – The Measurement Trap
1:01:15 – 5 Why’s
1:03:50 – Cliffhangers

1:04:50 – Break ☕ #GiveFirst
1:08:18 – Break ☕ Intrinsic

1:11:50 – Welcome Back
1:12:25 – Founders of Techstars
1:23:00 – Startup Community Partnerships
1:33:20 – Guitar Hero in Times Square
1:38:15 – Bigger Isn’t Better
1:41:00 – Sclerotic Thoughts
1:42:00 – Contentment
1:42:50 – BEN BOT
1:44:05 – Digitized Consciousness
1:45:12 – Vibe Coding
1:46:45 – Dinostroids
1:49:40 – Quantified Self
1:54:16 – Biohacking
1:56:30 – AI Notetaking
1:59:55 – Founder’s Interest in Philosophy
2:00:50 – The Entrepreneur’s Weekly Niche
2:07:10 – Obsession over Passion
2:10:20 – Affinity as an Investor
2:11:35 – Fight to the End
2:11:50 – The Dip -Seth Godin
2:12:20 – Successful Companies Experiment
2:13:15 – Evolution of Work
2:14:30 – Quickfire
– Spell Check
– Ant Hills
– Signal to Raise Capital
– Long Run Epiphany
– Being Alone
– Pinball Wizard
– Music & Concerts
2:23:15 – Fine Art
2:24:30 – You Don’t Need This Book
2:26:00 – “They can’t kill you, and they can’t eat you.” –Len Fassler

Give First.
People like us.
Do things like this.

BONUS MATERIALS

https://feld.com

https://foundry.vc

https://techstars.com

Break: #GiveFirst + Intrinsic

http://BradFeld.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

EP14 – Drams of History 🎙️ Tej Dhawan

EP18 – Fourteeners 🎙️🎞️ Jeff Reed

EP29 – Borderless 🎙️ Kerty Levy

EP56 – Caffeinated Manifesto 2 🎙️🎞️

EP99 – Traveled 🎙️🎞️ Trevor Carlson

https://BenMcDougal.com/tag/Brad-Feld

https://BenMcDougal.com/tag/Techstars

http://YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

By Ben McDougal, ago

Paving Paths

Eric Engelmann builds stuff. Let’s cheers to this leader’s early entrepreneurial experiences and the origins of so many projects (see bonus materials) that have paved different paths for fellow founders. We also discuss when teams need to raise financial capital and how to manage a board of advisors, then explore leveraging large clients, finding co-founders in a startup community, and being honest with the end game in mind.

After the break, we hear how Eric wants to be remembered and riff on if everyone has an entrepreneurial spirit. We celebrate co-founders in life, articulate venture studios, deal flow as an investor, the importance of computer science in education, and avoiding burnout within the long-term realm of evolving entrepreneurial ecosystems.

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BONUS MATERIALS

https://x.com/ericengelmann

https://geonetric.com

https://newbo.co

https://isaventures.com

https://novyventures.com

http://Paving-Paths.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

Roasted Reflections Break: Pain Relievers vs. Vitamins

https://entrefest.com

EP9 – Future of Work 🎙️ Nancy Mwirotsi

EP17 – Schoolhouse Rock 🎙️🎞️ Anika Yadav

EP30 – Exit Ramps 🎙️ Brian Crotty

EP77 – Problem Solving – Gerald Beranek

http://YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

http://BENBOT.ai

By Ben McDougal, ago

Drams of History

Tej Dhawan is an advocate for entrepreneurs building within all stages of growth. He’s been building technology and has been connecting dots since the earliest days of the Des Moines startup community. Many may hear their name mentioned in this special relic and cheers to all that was StartupCity Des Moines back in 2011!

Now at Principal Financial Group, Tej serves as Strategic Initiatives Officer and helps leads innovation as an intrapreneur within one of the largest companies in the world. He continues to connect angel investors with Plains Angels and is always up for a good chat over great scotch.

You’re going to love this history lesson on Des Moines, Iowa, but no matter where you’re listening from, there are tons of takeaways that can be applied where entrepreneurs are leading the evolution of an entrepreneurial ecosystem.

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By Ben McDougal, ago

Intrinsic

We all have bad days. When they string together, the stress gets heavy. This mental weight becomes especially unwieldy when the cause is unclear. After a couple down days, I went searching for the origin of my cloudy mood.

Along with insight on entrepreneurship, venture capital, and community building, Brad Feld talks a lot about mental fitness. The entrepreneurial lifestyle is a lonely roller coaster and I’m thankful for leaders like Brad (and many others), who have helped destigmatize the complex circuitry between leadership and mental health.

I found this entrepreneurship & mental health series from Techstars helpful, then wove in this 2015 interview to translate my temporary despair. Brad talked about how he’s gone through serious bouts with depression and through those challenging times, he’s been able to identify one of his intrinsic motivations to be perpetual learning. He went on to describe how even when he was busy and perceived to be successful, if boredom began to set in, an isolating absent of joy may soon follow.

This gave me clarity. I realized that one layer of my own intrinsic motivation is also learning. I like being in situations where I’m exposed to new things, thinking about fresh ideas, solving interesting problems, hearing stories from different people, and building into things I really care about. When there’s a lull in the action, it’s easy to think the ride is over. While this thought is misguided and untrue, it’s still disheartening. Mental fitness means something different for everyone, but here are a few exercises I plan to maintain within my practice.

  • Link learning with teaching.
  • Recognize that the storm will pass.
  • Find trusted peers to release tension.
  • Use this stimuli of stress to focus.

Adam Grant reminds us that strength does not come from ignoring pain. It stems from knowing that your past self has hurt and your future self will heal. Within the crucible of entrepreneurship, hardship is inevitable. Radical self inquiry keeps leaders aware of their mental fortitude. Such awareness then helps us maintain and uncover new stepping stones that illuminate our own path to thrive beyond momentary setbacks.

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Calm is one of my favorite apps. The guided meditations and sleep stories are a healthy aspect of my daily routine. Here are 10 ways to boost your mental fitness, a mental fitness training guide, and free mindfulness resources from these focused friends.

By Ben McDougal, ago