Strange drinks with Brad Feld @bfeld

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Aug 12

Brad Feld had a hectic day and full day in LA yesterday but he still put some time out to be with a few AsAble.com startup entrepreneurs. Sitting outside of Vocalno Tea in the warmth of a So Cal afternoon, we had a pleasure of hearing Brad talked about his investment philosphy, what he thinks about startups and where he thinks the VC trend is heading. It was invaluable to hear from someone like Brad who is so knowledgable and open to share.

Here are notes from those who attended:

“Being able to talk to Brad and fellow entrepreneurs in such an intimate fashion was a great experience. Brad was able to just be Brad and we were able to just be ourselves. We touched on real topics in this no-BS conversation that would never have been covered in a traditional panel discussion or networking event. Of course, trying ridiculous flavors of Bubble tea topped the day off. Thanks Giang, we could not have done this without you!” – Imo Udom

“Brad’s not a Silicon Valley VC and when you meet him, you can tell right away. He takes a long term, 20 year approach to problems both within his portfolio companies and within the startup community – whether it be H1-B Visa issues or the continued incubation of early stage companies through TechStars. He seems like the kind of patient investor that would have your back in good times and bad times. He continues to invest out of a deep passion for entrepreneurship and a sort of karma / sense of giving back to community that he truly enjoys being involved with. I hope that he’ll spend more time on the LA startup scene and bring some of the good fortune from the Boulder startup scene to Southern California.” – Ryan Born

“These get-togethers that Giang organizes are by far the best format for getting some deep information from some of the community’s brightest minds – and yesterday with Brad was no exception. It’s great to just chat, have a 2-way dialog, and talk about the industries and issues that matter most to the people who see a million companies a day.” – Joey Flores

“Brad was an excellent guest who was excited to hear about and discuss our startups despite the fact that none of us really fit into his fund’s 5 investment themes. I was impressed by his offer to follow up with us afterward and participate in the private betas of our products.” – Stefan Wrobel

“This is the ideal type of meetup for entrepreneurs and investors. By having such a small, intimate gathering of passionate entrepreneurs / investors, the discussion is elevated to a much more personalized and nuanced level. Brad shared a plethora of empathetic stories that we could all relate to, and delved into the minutia of past startup and investment experiences that is rarely seen in large forums and panel events. Another fantastic gathering of like minds.” – Robert Kiraz

Brad has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for over twenty years. Prior to co-founding Foundry Group, he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures, a company that helped launch and operate software companies and later became a venture affiliate of the predecessor to Mobius Venture Capital. Brad is also a co-founder of TechStars. You should read his blog here and say hello to him on Twitter: @bfeld. You should ask him about the strange drinks that were served there.

As you probably know, I like to organize small get together with interesting people like Brad for LA early stage startup entrepreneurs. I think smaller events are more intimate. It allows us to get to know each other better. Here are some of my past events:

Stay wonderful.

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