I’m on my way to Chicago for the day to give several talks on Give First: The Power of Mentorship and spend time with my long-time friend, Troy Henikoff. I enjoy Chicago and its startup community, which has produced some great companies over the last 20 years.
I think my first investment in Chicago was during the late 1990s in StartSampling (which I inherited from a Mobius partner.) It lived for a long time based on the tireless work of Larry Burns and his team, but ultimately didn’t make it. My next experience was with FeedBurner, which resulted in a positive outcome and fostered lasting friendships with the founders (Dick Costolo, Matt Shobe, Eric Lunt, and Steve Olechowski), as well as several executives, including Don Loeb, Rick Klau, and Brent Hill.
Plus, the Cubs with my dad and lots of chocolate ice cream together.
I recently spent 30 minutes with Adam Grant on the Techstars Give First Podcast, discussing the intersection between Adam’s excellent book, Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success.
I didn’t know Adam when I wrote the first edition of Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City, which came out in October 2012. When Adam’s book came out about six months later in April 2013, I grabbed it and read it immediately. I had an aha moment that related back to one short section in Startup Communties titled “Give Before You Get.” We cover this, and a bunch of other things in the podcast.
I’ve since met and gotten to know Adam, including a long luxurious lunch together one day in Aspen. I have enormous respect for his research and writing and learn something from him every time we interact.
I hope you enjoy the podcast which is available the following links.
