The Leap Academy Podcast with Ilana Golan is all about honest and inspiring conversations about what it really takes to leap to bigger things, amazing careers, and craft the life you want.
Stories and tips you won't find anywhere else.
Ilana speaks with some of the world's most influential people, experts, and thinkers who created incredible careers, massive impact, built a reputation, and an extraordinary life.
Together we discover the untold truths, the emotions, and important lessons that enabled them to reinvent themselves & leap.
We take our audience on a journey that will not only inspire but also teach concrete lessons on how to leap careers: fast-track to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, build a personal brand, portfolio career, and much more.
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The Leap Academy Podcast with Ilana Golan is all about honest and inspiring conversations about what it really takes to leap to bigger things, amazing careers, and craft the life you want.
Stories and tips you won't find anywhere else.
Ilana speaks with some of the world's most influential people, experts, and thinkers who created incredible careers, massive impact, built a reputation, and an extraordinary life.
Together we discover the untold truths, the emotions, and important lessons that enabled them to reinvent themselves & leap.
We take our audience on a journey that will not only inspire but also teach concrete lessons on how to leap careers: fast-track to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, build a personal brand, portfolio career, and much more.
Techstars Co-Founder, Brad Feld: How to Find Meaning While Achieving Success | E126
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
1 hour 24 minutes
1 month ago
Techstars Co-Founder, Brad Feld: How to Find Meaning While Achieving Success | E126
Despite outward success, Brad Feld struggled with depression, exhaustion, and feelings of emptiness. For years, he hid these challenges while relentlessly pushing forward as an entrepreneur. It wasn’t until his 40s, after seeking therapy and confronting his mental health, that Brad realized success wasn’t just about building companies, but about managing the emotional toll of entrepreneurship. Today, as the co-founder of Techstars and Foundry Group, he leads with a harmonious approach to work and life. In this episode, Brad joins Ilana to share the lessons he learned from early failures, why every successful founder faces ‘near-death moments’, and the mental health practices that helped him find joy again.
Brad Feld is a venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Techstars, one of the world’s leading startup accelerators. He is also the co-founder of two venture capital firms, Foundry Group and Mobius Venture Capital.
In this episode, Ilana and Brad discuss:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:07) Growing Up in Dallas and Discovering Computers
(07:29) MIT Years and Early Startup Failures
(14:17) Why Every Startup Faces a Near-Death Experience
(16:54) Battling Fear, Shame, and Depression in His Twenties
(26:52) Breaking Down at 47 Despite “Having It All”
(29:05) Brad’s Practical Steps for Rediscovering Joy
(41:54) The Random Day Experiment and Birth of Techstars
(52:47) Writing Venture Deals, Startup Communities, and Give First
(59:26) Coming Out of “Hibernation” to Write His Last Non-Fiction
(1:13:39) Work-Life Balance vs. Work-Life Harmony
Brad Feld is a venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Techstars, one of the world’s leading startup accelerators. He is also the co-founder of two venture capital firms, Foundry Group and Mobius Venture Capital. Brad is the author of nine books, including Venture Deals, Startup Communities, and Give First. Through his books, investments, and philosophy of “give first,” Brad has become a mentor to thousands of entrepreneurs navigating the brutal highs and lows of building a business.
Connect with Brad:
Brad’s Website: feld.com Brad’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bfeld
Resources Mentioned
Brad’s Book, Give First: The Power of Mentorship: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1646871324 Brad’s Book, Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1118441540 Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1118443616 Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up by Jerry Colonna: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062749536
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Leap Academy Podcast with Ilana Golan is all about honest and inspiring conversations about what it really takes to leap to bigger things, amazing careers, and craft the life you want.
Stories and tips you won't find anywhere else.
Ilana speaks with some of the world's most influential people, experts, and thinkers who created incredible careers, massive impact, built a reputation, and an extraordinary life.
Together we discover the untold truths, the emotions, and important lessons that enabled them to reinvent themselves & leap.
We take our audience on a journey that will not only inspire but also teach concrete lessons on how to leap careers: fast-track to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, build a personal brand, portfolio career, and much more.
