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
5:15Writing 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
1:23:00Startup 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
1:42:50BEN BOT
1:44:05 – Digitized Consciousness
1:45:12 – Vibe Coding
1:46:45Dinostroids
1:49:40 – Quantified Self
1:54:16 – Biohacking
1:56:30 – AI Notetaking
1:59:55 – Founder’s Interest in Philosophy
2:00:50The Entrepreneur’s Weekly Niche
2:07:10 – Obsession over Passion
2:10:20 – Affinity as an Investor
2:11:35 – Fight to the End
2:11:50The 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
2:24:30You 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

Traveled

Trevor Carlson visited 50+ countries in 5 years!

He’s also a friend, founder, content creator, and below-average salsa dancer. Pack your bag and ride along as we wind through an extended episode with wild stories from around the globe, a narrated break, writing fiction, thoughts on the future of You Don’t Need This Podcast, experiential wisdom brewed to keep us building together, and bonus footage where Ben shares what he wants from life.

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BONUS MATERIALS

https://lostandlore.com

https://FreshFuelMarketing.com

The Climb by Trevor Carlson (early access)

Roasted Reflections Break: Serendipitist

http://Traveled.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

EP44 – Do What You Love 🎙️ Scotty Russell

EP56 – Caffeinated Manifesto 2 🎙️ Ben McDougal

EP84 – Base Camp 🎙️ John Kallen

EP94 – Paving Paths 🎙️ Eric Engelmann

Man’s Search For Meaning -Viktor E. Frankl

http://YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

YDNTP on YouTube

http://BENBOT.ai

By Ben McDougal, ago

Unrelenting

Abena Sankofa is an unrelenting author, founder, and fellow podcaster who hosts Black & Privileged in America. This leader celebrates Africana, challenges historical narratives, and advocates for a just world. Together, we share time on a Tuesday by chatting about reading, writing, podcasting, and building a healthy bookshelf.

After another narrated break, we update the “minority” business owner narrative, discuss ways to leverage resources geared just for you, and explore the perceived religious vibes that are more like the constant governance of cultural interactions within business environments and beyond.

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BONUS MATERIALS

https://AbenaSankofa.com

Omari’s Big Tree and the Mighty Djembe

“Iowa Nice” Interrupted | TEDxDesMoines

Roasted Reflections Break: Bookmarks

http://Unrelenting.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

EP33 – Health Equity 🎙️ Corey Dion Lewis

EP59 – Agents of Change 🎙️ Amner Martinez

EP65 – Aromatherapy 🎙️ Kourtney Perry

EP86 – Red Jalapeño 🎙️ Taufeek Shah

http://YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

By Ben McDougal, ago

Cartoonist

Nathan T. Wright is an artist. He has origins in the early days of social media, made impact inside corporate marketing, and now illustates remarkable art with drawings, cartoons, murals, and more. Ben and Nathan jam on The Adventures of Fatberg, the early (fun) days of social media, the speeds in-house at a large company, leading a creative process with clients, real skills for studying the arts, and understanding the business of being a full-time artist.

After the break that features a reading of Aphorism, Nathan and Ben dive back in by talking graphic recording at live events, the positive tension of smart cartoons, and extending value by reformatting great content into books. EP90 of YDNTP is an absolute bop – share with a friend!

EXTRA SHOT

Nathan T. Wright is the friend who illustrated the mug that has become part of a brand that is Ben McDougal.

What started as the caffeinated, community-driven cover art for You Don’t Need This Book, now extends through the Roasted Reflections NFT Collection, imprinted phygital clothing, the front of tiny ideabooks, temporary tattoos, a huge neon sign, and of course, the artwork for this timeless podcast! Cheers to this episode and another shared relic that keeps the fun brewing!

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BONUS MATERIALS

https://nathantwright.com

The Adventures of Fatberg

https://etsy.com/shop/ntwillustration

City of Santa Ana FOG Activity Book

Roasted Reflections Break: Aphorism

https://NewYorker.com/latest/cartoons

http://Cartoonist.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

https://MainframeStudios.org

EP21 – Pinball Wizards 🎙️ Ben Sinclair

EP44 – Do What You Love 🎙️ Scotty Russell

EP55 – Inextinguishable Light 🎙️ Jim Morgan

EP60 – Goosebumps 🎙️ Nic Roth

http://YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

https://BenMcDougal.com/NFT

http://BENBOT.ai

By Ben McDougal, ago

Push Through

Alongside a career in finance, Steve Walsh is an investor and wrote Make the 10X Leap to help founders scale. We talk about choosing to push through the storm, raising strategic financial capital, collaborating with investors, signals for when it might be time to scale, and all that goes into writing your first book.

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BONUS MATERIALS

https://BisonEquityGroup.com

http://Push-Through.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

Roasted Reflections Break: Winds of Outrage

https://BenMcDougal.com/How-I-Wrote-YDNTB

EP59 – Agents of Change 🎙️ Amner Martinez

EP73 – Care Directly 🎙️ Jon Van De Veer

EP84 – Base Camp 🎙️ Jon Kallen

http://YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

By Ben McDougal, ago