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" At TechStars, I have the privilege of working with hundreds of the best and brightest start-up mentors on the planet. We coach our mentors to take a Socratic approach and to provide data rather than decisions. "

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" I think just calling up a VC and saying 'I want to pitch you' is an enormous waste of time. "

" I wish I had had more mentorship and more access, not only for capital, but the critical thinking. "

" If you're in a squeeze for capital and you have a solid, mutually beneficial relationship with a VC, your chances of raising will increase dramatically. "

David Cohen

" The more you're real with people, and the more you let people help you, the more they get to understand how you operate as an entrepreneur. The stronger that relationship is, then the more likely there's a future together in that relationship. "

David Cohen

" There is no doubt that Boulder was a supportive and open-door community well before TechStars ever existed. But one of the things that I'm most proud of is that TechStars has provided a real focal point for this sort of activity and has brought attention to just how impactful one community can be when it works together. "

David Cohen

" Because one of the main jobs of a CEO is to set the vision and strategy for the company, I'm a big believer in making one of the founders the default CEO. "

David Cohen

" For most people, their home is their most valuable asset. Yet most of us don't take care of it. "

David Cohen

" If you're not working on something you're passionate about, it's a long, hard road. "

David Cohen

" Meetings with no goal, also known as 'coffee shop' meetings, can be huge time wasters if you're not efficient with them. 'Always know why you're meeting, and make sure it's important - try to keep them to 30 minutes, max. "

David Cohen

" Every year, it seems to be there are more people right out of college who are willing to jump into a start-up. "

David Cohen

" Twitter needs to become more of a platform on the web. If Twitter went away today, people would just turn to Facebook. If Facebook went away, people would start screaming - it's so universal. "

David Cohen

" I think the best developers can learn any language; if they are a good developer, they can learn whatever. But the raw talent, the ability to learn it and do it and demonstrate the ability is helpful. "

David Cohen

" San Francisco is a great startup community that you shouldn't even try to model yourself after because it's just special. "

David Cohen

" You may have a small network, but growing that network has become easier with the use of social tools. LinkedIn, Conspire, even Facebook and Twitter allow you to grab branches that may have previously seemed out of reach. "

David Cohen

" Ultimately, we measure ourselves on the success of our investments. "

David Cohen

" In innovation, you're trying to create something from nothing. "

David Cohen

" Techstars is truly global; you'll see us continue to expand all our programs worldwide, including accelerators, our venture capital, as well as the UP Global programs including Startup Weekend, Startup Next, Startup Digest, etc. "

David Cohen

" If you're pitching to investors for the first time and expecting them to be so blown away by how thoroughly amazing your pitch is that they write a check on the spot - well, prepare to be disappointed. "

David Cohen

" The future is going to happen in Toronto or Berlin or Bengaluru and not necessarily in the Valley. "

David Cohen

" TechStars is mentorship-driven. "

David Cohen

" Rules designed to ensure competition ensure that innovators with new ideas can challenge incumbents on a level playing field. "

David Cohen

" We think of the Techstars product as not really the accelerator but the network. That's what entrepreneurs should be valuing here. I think it's the most undervalued thing that many entrepreneurs don't get. "

David Cohen

" I was lucky to have amazing mentors like Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson. "

David Cohen

" If you look at the history of innovation, the innovations coming through the defence department have been some of the most important innovations ever. Little things like drones, sensors, and the Internet of Things are defence-type initiatives, but the big one is the Internet itself. "

David Cohen

" Aspiring entrepreneurs are often advised to work at a startup for a couple of years first, to understand what's involved. But often, each company's approach to success is very narrow. So my advice is, 'Just do it.' "

David Cohen

" The Internet is full of choices, and nobody is going to make the choice to use a product that is hard to use or unattractive. "

David Cohen

" I think motivation and drive, coupled with raw talent, help make founders successful. "

David Cohen

" Consumers have zero time for products that are not simple, intuitive, and attractive to use. This is especially true with Internet products, where clean and useful design is a prerequisite to keeping anyone on your site for more than 30 seconds. "

David Cohen

" Going public is one step in the life cycle of a company; it's not the last step. "

David Cohen

" Techstars has done a great job accelerating and providing venture capital to the most promising companies to make the biggest long-term economic impact. "

David Cohen