awesome episode...
On This Week in Startups, Jason was joined by i/o ventures (
http://ventures.io) partner Paul Bragiel (
http://twitter.com/bragiel). Paul--accompanied by his formidable beard--gave us a lot of insight into the selection process for the i/o program, the companies he's proud to have mentored and the state of startups in the Valley (hint: Paul says no bubble!).
If you missed the live show, never fear:
http://goo.gl/0IHZg Or, you can jump straight to some of the best moments:
• 17 minutes in: Are good companies still applying to accelerators? Watch:
http://goo.gl/bDR6Y • 21 minutes in: i/o's approach to the incubator model. Watch:
http://goo.gl/beb1q • 37 minutes in: Is MVP always the right decision? Watch:
http://goo.gl/pgsus To spread the word about this insightful episode, just tweet this: "Meet the man behind the beard: Paul Bragiel of @io talks mentors, funding & why he can’t stay away from the startup game
http://goo.gl/0IHZg"
Coming up this Friday, Feb. 17, we're jetting (virtually) around the globe for the first-ever TWiST Berlin meetup! Don't miss all the pitching action live at 1pm PT. Watch and unpack the startups with us in the chat here:
http://thisweekin.com/live We couldn't bring you episodes like today's without our incredible sponsors GoToMeeting (
http://gotomeeting.com) and MailChimp (
http://mailchimp.com). Show them you appreciate their support by thanking them @GoToMeeting and @MailChimp.
Thanks for your viewership and support!
Carolyn, TWiST Producer
@cbedgood
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TWiST #232 Paul Bragiel of i/o ventures
0:00-2:00 Today we have Paul Bragiel, managing director of the accelerator i/o ventures with us.
2:00-2:45 Your accelerator is actually a physical location that people work out of, right?
2:45-5:00 Thank you so much to MailChimp for their support. Everyone thank @mailchimp!
5:00-6:00 Do you send email updates about i/o ventures?
6:00-7:45 What is the mission of i/o ventures and how is it different from Y Combinator?
7:45-9:00 What’s the story? Do you shampoo that beard?
9:00-10:00 Who are the other people working in your office?
10:00-10:30 How many people have graduated?
10:30-11:30 How much do the companies get and how much equity do you take?
11:30-12:00 Is blatantly ripping off someone’s idea the worst thing in the world?
12:00-13:45 Jason reveals a story about meeting with a successful investor in Germany at the DLD Conference who warned him about the Samwer brothers.
13:45-16:00 What’s the difference between stealing artistically and ripping something off?
16:00-17:00 Who’s to blame for enabling pieces of garbage like them?
17:00-19:00 So after two classes, do you feel like the quality is going down?
19:00-20:15 How much more did it cost to start a company ten years ago?
20:15-20:30 Have there been any lawsuits over the mandatory beard rule in your program?
20:30-21:45 Where does the money come from that you invest in the companies?
21:45-24:15 How much of what you provide for companies is coaching versus teaching skills?
24:15-26:30 Thank you to GoToMeeting for their support! Everyone thank @gotomeeting!
28:00-31:00 Take me through the process of when you’re reading an application, what are you thinking? What’s the first thing you look for?
31:00-32:45 What’s next, after you’ve looked at the person?
32:45-34:30 You don’t need the money, so why are you doing this?
34:30-37:30 How many of the people you accept every year are established in the Valley or are most people new to the area?
37:30-40:30 Is it possible to build a big company with a minimal viable product?
40:30-42:45 What was the best idea from Web 1.0 that didn’t make it?
42:45-45:15 What are some companies that have graduated that you’re most proud of?
45:15-46:45 Is there an angel bubble right now?
46:45-48:30 Is your advice to companies to raise as much money as possible out of the gate or only to take what you need?
48:30-49:00 What did Lefora do?
49:00-50:30 What do you think are the key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs?
50:30-51:00 You have literally hundreds of applications to go through, don’t you?
51:00-51:30 What’s the best way for people to get in touch with you?
51:30-52:30 You’ve got an amazing mentor list.
52:30-54:00 And you’re going to give a slot to a company from the LAUNCH Festival, right?
54:30-56:00 Paul announces that i/o ventures is about to do the first seed fund in sub-Saharan Africa.
56:00-56:30 What’s the new definition of samwer?
56:30-57:00 Paul, you’ve been an amazing guest and I think you’re doing great work. I wish you continued success. Thank you to GoToMeeting and MailChimp and we’ll see you next time.
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Jason on Twitter Mahalo.com This Week in Startups
