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" I think entrepreneurs really appreciate directness and honesty, coupled with empathy. "

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

" I had done six or eight traditional angel investments and basically just thought it sucked. "

" Deciding whether or not to bring in an outside CEO is one of the most gut-wrenching decisions that a founder will ever need to make. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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.' "

" We've been publishing the TechStars data fully since the beginning on TechStars.com. For every single company, you can see if it's a failure, success, how much they raised. Entrepreneurs deserve that sort of transparency from accelerators, and it's not hard to do. "

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

" My attitude is there are at least hundreds of interesting startups that are going to get going in every year. "

" Entrepreneurship transparency, I think, is important because there are so many problems that you just have to be real about them. There are so many ways for a startup to die, so the transparency attitude is key. "

" Company naming is a key part of the branding process, but it's subject to contrasting tastes and an illiquid domain name market that results in startups wasting their time during the branding process. "

" The hot deal is often the one that does not work. "

" The rise of digital technologies has eroded boundaries: Anyone can participate, start a business, and reach a global audience. "

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

" Part of the thing that's magic about TechStars is it's about a community that wants to make itself better. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" The best mentors present their opinions simply as data and not as direction. "

" When fundraising, your network is critical. Leveraging it early and often is the key. Don't make the mistake of waiting until you need money to engage sources of capital. "

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

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

" I've done a bunch of consulting; I've actually spent time in Singapore, England, Denmark, all over. "

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

" Twilio is a great example of a company executing tremendously well on its vision and delivering a beautiful set of products that solves real problems. "

" In Boulder entrepreneurship circles, there is a genuine desire to see others succeed and a general belief that karma matters. There's a sense that together we're building something here, and that we're all a meaningful part of it. "

" There are not enough female VCs in an industry so traditionally dominated by males. There are not enough female mentors who are actively engaged with female founders. We need women VCs and entrepreneurs to stand up, get loud, and help guide their peers. "

" There's no law that says you have to do what your mentor suggests. And the sooner you learn how to say 'no' confidently, the easier it will be to manage these key relationships. "

" Quality and a great product matters, in startups, and in accelerators. "

" I had to quit a 'real job' to start my first company. "