The Startup Playbook, 2nd Edition

Chapter 11Getting Help

I (Rajat) am going to make Will blush for a bit and talk about another mentor, Brad Feld. Will, Brad, and I all started working together when the two of them invested in my first company, NetGenesis.

I met Brad when he was guest lecturing a course I was taking at Sloan, the business school at MIT. I shared my idea for a new company with him, and he immediately wanted to help. Subsequently, he introduced me to Will and a number of other people in the Boston startup community.

I had been getting to know them both for several months before they decided to invest. A key reason that I wanted to take their money was not really because of the money but their expertise. I had never built a company, and both Will and Brad had experience and knew many of the pitfalls. More importantly, both Brad and Will were committed to help me grow and learn.

That commitment has now gone on for about 25 years. We've gone on to work together in many different ways (Will and I on this book!), and through it all, both of them have been supportive of me in my growth.

There's no doubt that I was fortunate to find two amazing mentors and build deep, lasting relationships that have spanned multiple decades. Thank you, Will and Brad!

Those same types of relationships are out there for each entrepreneur. They are hard to find, but there are experienced mentors who want to help entrepreneurs build their business.

Be selective, and find people that you can learn from—and make sure that ...