StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Aug 24, 2015 · 31m · 20vc

20 VC 065: FOUNDRY GROUP WEEK 1: Brad Feld: Founders Should Be Obsessed, Passion Belongs In The Bedroom

Brad Feld · 24m spoken Harry Stebbings · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this inaugural episode of Foundry Group Week on The 20 Minute VC, host Harry Stebbings interviews venture capitalist Brad Feld about his early entrepreneurial failures, Foundry Group's unique $225M fund discipline, investment criteria centered on founder obsession, and notable portfolio investments like Fitbit and Glowforge.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Harry holds 14.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Harry as informed peer 1.6 Guest teaching 3.8 Guest disagreement 1.6 Harry pushing back 0.4
05100:0010:0020:0030:001:41–6:36 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Welcoming Brad Feld to The 20 Minute VC Harry welcomes Brad with enthusiasm and asks broad background questions about his early career. Brad walks through his early company failures and success with royalty models, offering historical context while Harry listens deferentially.6:36–12:01 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Reframing Failure, Romanticization, and Founder Durability Harry asks Brad whether failure is a necessity for founder success. Brad reframes the question, rejecting the trendy narrative that failure is a badge of honor and emphasizing founder durability instead. Brad also details how he initially misjudged Fitbit's founder on a phone call.12:02–16:00 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Foundry Group Investment Criteria and Founder Obsession Harry asks what gets Brad excited in founder meetings. Brad breaks down Foundry Group's investment criteria, distinguishing ephemeral passion from deep founder obsession and detailing their specific thematic focus areas.16:01–21:58 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Fund Size Discipline and CEO Service Strategy at Foundry Harry asks about Foundry Group's structural strategy and gently presses Brad on why every fund they raise is capped at exactly $225M. Brad explains how capping fund size maintains discipline and maximizes time spent serving CEOs.21:58–29:54 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Quick Fire Round: Books, Leaders, Co-Investors, and Glowforge Harry guides Brad through a rapid-fire round covering books, co-investors, leaders, and recent deals. Harry provides helpful context and assists Brad when he temporarily forgets a book title.1:41–6:36 · Guest teaching 3/10 Welcoming Brad Feld to The 20 Minute VC Harry welcomes Brad with enthusiasm and asks broad background questions about his early career. Brad walks through his early company failures and success with royalty models, offering historical context while Harry listens deferentially.6:36–12:01 · Guest teaching 5/10 Reframing Failure, Romanticization, and Founder Durability Harry asks Brad whether failure is a necessity for founder success. Brad reframes the question, rejecting the trendy narrative that failure is a badge of honor and emphasizing founder durability instead. Brad also details how he initially misjudged Fitbit's founder on a phone call.12:02–16:00 · Guest teaching 4/10 Foundry Group Investment Criteria and Founder Obsession Harry asks what gets Brad excited in founder meetings. Brad breaks down Foundry Group's investment criteria, distinguishing ephemeral passion from deep founder obsession and detailing their specific thematic focus areas.16:01–21:58 · Guest teaching 4/10 Fund Size Discipline and CEO Service Strategy at Foundry Harry asks about Foundry Group's structural strategy and gently presses Brad on why every fund they raise is capped at exactly $225M. Brad explains how capping fund size maintains discipline and maximizes time spent serving CEOs.21:58–29:54 · Guest teaching 3/10 Quick Fire Round: Books, Leaders, Co-Investors, and Glowforge Harry guides Brad through a rapid-fire round covering books, co-investors, leaders, and recent deals. Harry provides helpful context and assists Brad when he temporarily forgets a book title.1:41–6:36 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Welcoming Brad Feld to The 20 Minute VC Harry welcomes Brad with enthusiasm and asks broad background questions about his early career. Brad walks through his early company failures and success with royalty models, offering historical context while Harry listens deferentially.6:36–12:01 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Reframing Failure, Romanticization, and Founder Durability Harry asks Brad whether failure is a necessity for founder success. Brad reframes the question, rejecting the trendy narrative that failure is a badge of honor and emphasizing founder durability instead. Brad also details how he initially misjudged Fitbit's founder on a phone call.12:02–16:00 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Foundry Group Investment Criteria and Founder Obsession Harry asks what gets Brad excited in founder meetings. Brad breaks down Foundry Group's investment criteria, distinguishing ephemeral passion from deep founder obsession and detailing their specific thematic focus areas.16:01–21:58 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Fund Size Discipline and CEO Service Strategy at Foundry Harry asks about Foundry Group's structural strategy and gently presses Brad on why every fund they raise is capped at exactly $225M. Brad explains how capping fund size maintains discipline and maximizes time spent serving CEOs.21:58–29:54 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Quick Fire Round: Books, Leaders, Co-Investors, and Glowforge Harry guides Brad through a rapid-fire round covering books, co-investors, leaders, and recent deals. Harry provides helpful context and assists Brad when he temporarily forgets a book title.1:41–6:36 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Welcoming Brad Feld to The 20 Minute VC Harry welcomes Brad with enthusiasm and asks broad background questions about his early career. Brad walks through his early company failures and success with royalty models, offering historical context while Harry listens deferentially.6:36–12:01 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Reframing Failure, Romanticization, and Founder Durability Harry asks Brad whether failure is a necessity for founder success. Brad reframes the question, rejecting the trendy narrative that failure is a badge of honor and emphasizing founder durability instead. Brad also details how he initially misjudged Fitbit's founder on a phone call.12:02–16:00 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Foundry Group Investment Criteria and Founder Obsession Harry asks what gets Brad excited in founder meetings. Brad breaks down Foundry Group's investment criteria, distinguishing ephemeral passion from deep founder obsession and detailing their specific thematic focus areas.16:01–21:58 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Fund Size Discipline and CEO Service Strategy at Foundry Harry asks about Foundry Group's structural strategy and gently presses Brad on why every fund they raise is capped at exactly $225M. Brad explains how capping fund size maintains discipline and maximizes time spent serving CEOs.21:58–29:54 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Quick Fire Round: Books, Leaders, Co-Investors, and Glowforge Harry guides Brad through a rapid-fire round covering books, co-investors, leaders, and recent deals. Harry provides helpful context and assists Brad when he temporarily forgets a book title.

speaking balance: gold is Harry, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Harry 66.3% · guest 33.7%0:00 · Harry 66.3% · guest 33.7%3:00 · Harry 1.7% · guest 98.3%3:00 · Harry 1.7% · guest 98.3%6:00 · Harry 14.8% · guest 85.2%6:00 · Harry 14.8% · guest 85.2%9:00 · Harry 6.6% · guest 93.4%9:00 · Harry 6.6% · guest 93.4%12:00 · Harry 1.7% · guest 98.3%12:00 · Harry 1.7% · guest 98.3%15:00 · Harry 6.7% · guest 93.3%15:00 · Harry 6.7% · guest 93.3%18:00 · Harry 3.2% · guest 96.8%18:00 · Harry 3.2% · guest 96.8%21:00 · Harry 7.5% · guest 92.5%21:00 · Harry 7.5% · guest 92.5%24:00 · Harry 2.9% · guest 97.1%24:00 · Harry 2.9% · guest 97.1%27:00 · Harry 7.9% · guest 92.1%27:00 · Harry 7.9% · guest 92.1%30:00 · Harry 99% · guest 1%30:00 · Harry 99% · guest 1%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:48 Reframing the failure narrative

Brad pushes back on the popular industry view that failure is a badge of honor, pointing out correlation/causality fallacies and trendiness in tech discourse.

 Hardest push from Harry ▶ 17:05 Pressing on $225M fund size

Harry interrupts Brad's general comments on fund consistency to specifically probe how the firm arrived at their $225M figure.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:55 Passion vs. obsession distinction

Brad dismantles common VC terminology by explaining why 'passion' is ephemeral and belongs in the bedroom, teaching that VCs should instead seek palpable founder obsession.

 Harry holds his own ▶ 28:20 Identifying Dan Shapiro's book

When Brad stumbles while trying to recall Dan Shapiro's book title, Harry steps in to identify 'The Hot Seat' and seamlessly keep the interview moving.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicHarry as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementHarry pushing backWhy
Welcoming Brad Feld to The 20 Minute VC 1310 Harry welcomes Brad with enthusiasm and asks broad background questions about his early career. Brad walks through his early company failures and success with royalty models, offering historical context while Harry listens deferentially.
Reframing Failure, Romanticization, and Founder Durability 2531 Harry asks Brad whether failure is a necessity for founder success. Brad reframes the question, rejecting the trendy narrative that failure is a badge of honor and emphasizing founder durability instead. Brad also details how he initially misjudged Fitbit's founder on a phone call.
Foundry Group Investment Criteria and Founder Obsession 1420 Harry asks what gets Brad excited in founder meetings. Brad breaks down Foundry Group's investment criteria, distinguishing ephemeral passion from deep founder obsession and detailing their specific thematic focus areas.
Fund Size Discipline and CEO Service Strategy at Foundry 2411 Harry asks about Foundry Group's structural strategy and gently presses Brad on why every fund they raise is capped at exactly $225M. Brad explains how capping fund size maintains discipline and maximizes time spent serving CEOs.
Quick Fire Round: Books, Leaders, Co-Investors, and Glowforge 2310 Harry guides Brad through a rapid-fire round covering books, co-investors, leaders, and recent deals. Harry provides helpful context and assists Brad when he temporarily forgets a book title.

Statements from this episode (10)

Disclosure
Brad Feld's first startup returned 70 cents on the dollar
“Very first company was a company called Martingale software, which I started with a handful of fraternity brothers to write software for the Mac when the Apple Mac was just coming out, 1983, 1984, and the end result was we made almost no progress building any …”
Brad Feld Aug 24, 2015 ▶ 2:23
Insight
Every successful startup suffers near-death experiences requiring durability
“Every success I've ever been in involved in has had multiple points of failure, some of them near-death experiences for the company, and the great founders and the great companies and I think the great investors are the ones that have a lot of durability throu…”
Brad Feld Aug 24, 2015 ▶ 7:16
Disclosure
Foundry Group initially passed on Fitbit before investing
“In the case of Fitbit it, like a number of other companies that we were investors in, you know, several which are very successful, are good examples of companies that we initially passed on, and then, you know, six or 12 months later made an investment.”
Brad Feld Aug 24, 2015 ▶ 8:29
Opinion
Fitbit CEO James Park is calm, deliberate, and substantive
“If you've ever seen James speak, he's an incredibly calm, deliberate direct, thoughtful person. But he doesn't have, you know, a wide emotional range, but he's incredibly substantive.”
Brad Feld Aug 24, 2015 ▶ 10:57
Assertion Partly supported
Foundry Group restricts investments to US startups under $3M raised
“So if you've raised less than three million bucks, we're a potential target. And then we only invest in the US.”
Brad Feld Aug 24, 2015 ▶ 12:28
Insight
Founder passion is ephemeral; investments require palpable obsession
“It's ephemeral. You know, my throwaway line is it belongs in the bedroom. Obsession, you know, obsession is a different thing and not an unhealthy obsession, but an obsession that's palpable.”
Brad Feld Aug 24, 2015 ▶ 13:25
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Foundry Group will never add junior staff or expand team
“When we started Foundry, a deeply held belief was that we would never grow. It would just be, you know, the initial partners. We'd never add any junior people, and that we would be the ones that were doing all the work with the founders versus, you know, havin…”
Brad Feld Aug 24, 2015 ▶ 16:38
Assertion Supported
Every fund raised by Foundry Group is capped at $225M
“Another corollary to that is that every fund we raised would be the same size. So we've raised multiple funds. Every one of them is two hundred and twenty-five million dollars.”
Brad Feld Aug 24, 2015 ▶ 16:57
Assertion Supported
Foundry Group averages 10 new investments per year
“Because we've constrained the size of our funds, we make 10 new investments a year, and approximately, some years we do eight, some years we do 12, but it's approximately 10 a year”
Brad Feld Aug 24, 2015 ▶ 20:55
Opinion
Subtractive laser printing is more versatile than 3D printing
“This is a product that does basically the same, but I think it's actually a much more versatile long-term technology than three D printing in terms of what it can do.”
Brad Feld Aug 24, 2015 ▶ 29:07
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 1,200 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more