Six Basic Questions: Brad Feld of Foundry Group and Mobius Venture Capital

Brad Feld is an MIT graduate who’s technological aptitude has taken him on an entrepreneurial journey that currently has him in position to what he loves, help start companies. Brad is Managing Director at Foundry Group and Mobius Venture Capital. Previously he founded his own company and served as CTO for the company that acquired the company he started. He also serves on the boards of several private companies and non-profits. Here’s how he took on the six simple questions:

What did you want to be when you grew up? I never really thought hard about it. My dad was a doctor so I knew that I didn’t want to a be doctor. I started playing with computers when I was 12 (1977) so that was always in my mind.

Whether it is in a big way or a small way, how do you change the world? I love to help create companies. I’ve been a co-founder or early investor in over 100 companies.

What’s one invention or innovation that would change the way you do your work? If my compute infrastructure was smarter and could figure out what I wanted and didn’t want, my life would be a lot better.

What problem do you encounter most frequently in your everyday life? Massively inefficient stuff – whether it’s a function of government regulation, the stultifying bureaucracy of accounting firms, or the current inefficient “deal process” that “just is this way.”

If you could go back to when you were just starting out, what are two things you’d do differently? Nothing.

What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? Chocolate anything.

To learn about more about Brad and what he does, check out his two blogs: Feld Thoughts and Ask the VC

Why Your Cover Letter Should be Bold and Daring

Your cover letter and resume are the keys to the door. These documents serve as your first writing sample and an introduction but they also serve another purpose. You are creating an advertisement for yourself.

Advertising needs to be attention grabbing and advertising is targeted. Knowing that your cover letter and resume will not get you an interview at every single job you apply to is very important knowledge. Your cover letter may not reach everyone but if you write a safe, boring, traditional letter it is likely that you'll never reach anyone.

You should go into your letter OK with the fact that no one gets every job they apply to. This will allow you to write more effective letters, letters that get you jobs that are a good fit. You want your cover letter to elicit a reaction from the reader. It needs to be attention grabbing. Think of the first few lines as a headline, if they're not good, the person won't even read the rest. It should be something eye-catching or something memorable. It should not be: Hi I'm writing to submit my resume for your consideration... why else would you write a cover letter?

On a further note, definitely don't talk about how much you want the job. You wouldn't be writing the letter if you didn't want the job. You have to think about how you can differentiate yourself from other applicants without doing something crazy like sending a letter written on a football. When it comes down to it the main thing is that you need a good opener, one that's attention getting and one that's not necessarily safe. If you turn off 60% of the people who read it and turn on 40%, you've still done a much better job than the typical resume sender who receives one response for every 10 or so resumes they send out. After you have their attention, its important to get your message across while their attention is focused. Its important to get to the point quickly and to avoid flowery writing and fillers. Human resources departments have tons of resumes to read, you want to be able to quickly paint a picture of yourself in their minds (**bullet points are useful if used in moderation).

Finally, the resume and cover letter should be an enticing ad for yourself, not a complete biography (save this for the interview). Typically, you win a job in an interview but you'll never get to that point if you lose it right off the bat with your cover letter.

Tip: Don't use an Internet template. They're great for learning how to write a cover letter if you've never seen one before but it should go without saying that you should write your own letters. Ideally the cover letter should be as representative of yourself as possible, not representative of the template you stole from the Internet. Your writing style helps people to learn about you. You want to be a leader not a follower, don't start as a follower by copying your cover letter. Write in a way that allows you to attract the attention of people who share your frame of mind. If you mold your cover letter to be something you're not, chances are you'll end up working for a place that's not like you and inevitably you won't be in a job that you enjoy. After all, that's what we're after isn't it?

Cooking for 1 or 2

If bulk cooking isn't your thing, from time to time we'll also be posting recipes that make one or two servings and are easy to cook in the typical apartment kitchen. It saves you the hassle of scaling down recipes and adds to the enjoyment of having your own place. Have a recipe? Share it with us!

Manhattan Clam Chowder for 1:
**Start to finish: 45 minutes

Treat yourself to fresh clams for this recipe — they make all the difference. This dish originated in Rhode Island during the late 19th century, when, as story has it, Portuguese immigrants added tomatoes to their chowder. British New Englanders believed their creamy chowder to be superior and named the Portuguese version after Manhattan, presuming that New Yorkers were the only people crazy enough to add tomatoes.

Ingredients

2 bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch squares
1/3 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons diced (1/3 inch) green bell pepper
3 tablespoons diced (1/3 inch) celery
2/3 cup diced (1/3 inch) peeled boiling potato (1 small)
1 (8-oz) bottle clam juice
1 cup canned diced tomatoes (8 oz), including juice
1 1/2 dozen small hard-shelled clams (1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter; 2 lb total), scrubbed well
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Prep

Cook bacon in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to moderately low, then add onion, bell pepper, and celery and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in potato, bottled clam juice, and tomatoes (with juice) and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Stir in clams and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until clams open wide, 8 to 10 minutes. (Discard any clams that after 10 minutes have not opened.) Remove pan from heat.

Remove most of clamshells with tongs, then detach clams and return them to chowder. (Keep a few in their shells for garnish.) Stir in parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

Chowder, without clams or parsley, can be made 1 day ahead. Bring to a simmer before adding clams and proceeding.

Happy Eating!

**Recipe from Epicurious.com

Introducing Six Basic Questions

One recommendation that a lot of people make when they give career advice is to conduct informational interviews with people who do things that you are interested in. Here at Real World Basic we agree that this is a fantastic idea. However, we have a short attention span and we like slightly offbeat questions, thus the addition of the Six Basic Questions feature to the site.

What we'll do from here on out is conduct interviews with people working in cool jobs and leading interesting lives. The questions will stay the same so that the interviews can be easily compared. If you want to see us vary the questions, try sending a convincing email and we'll see what we can work out. For now, sit back and enjoy the series.

For starters here's the short interview format as it played out with Keith Schacht of JobCoin.com:

Keith Schacht is Founder and CEO of JobCoin, which provides a user-friendly job board application that gives websites a new way to monetize their content. He also currently co-edits Freshwater Venture and previously co-founded Inventables, Lever Works, Inc., and Chicago Beta. As someone experienced with living the start-up life and succeeding, here’s how Keith tackled the Six Simple Questions:

What did you want to be when you grew up?

Back then I would of told you “Someone who can just make stuff all day.” Give me some space parts and a little duct tape, and I was entertained for days.

Whether it is in a big way or a small way, how do you change the world?

I’m changing the way people connect with one another around job opportunities. I’m constantly amazed at how inefficient the process is.

What’s one invention or innovation that would change the way you do your work?

I want a tool that knows what I’m working on, or what I’m looking for, and automatically connects me to people who are in the same boat as me or who can help. It has to be instantaneous and it has to be smart. Yahoo Answers and other sites are almost there, but not instantaneous enough. People have an inherent desire to help each other and answer questions.

What problem do you encounter most frequently in your everyday life?

I don’t feel like there are a lot of problems, I’m amazed how many tools exist to help you day-to-day. It would be nice to eliminate batteries, no more charging laptops, cell phones, etc.

If you could go back to when you were just starting out, what are two things you’d do differently?

I don’t think I’d change anything. I know that sounds cliche, but it’s a learning process and you have to experience the good and the bad to learn the lessons.

What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Cinnamon!

If you’re interested in learning more or getting a job board for your site, check out www.jobcoin.com. Also, be sure to keep up to date with new developments at the JobCoin Blog.

Corporation You: Changing the Way You Organize Your Life

As someone just starting out, you're still learning how to work and hopefully you are looking for ways to get the most from yourself. By this point you realize that a lot about life is competitive and the way you structure your work process and your life can have huge implications when it comes to being successful.

Businesses epitomize the competitive atmosphere of today's working world and businesses are constantly looking to find a competitive advantage that sets them apart from others in their market. If you acknowledge that the workplace is a competitive market, why shouldn't you be looking for ways to set yourself apart as well? Now I realize you are not a business, but that's not to say it wouldn't hurt to think of yourself as one. I think it is very important to realize how competitive advantage can be scaled to the personal level.

When it comes to your career, each person is their own business. Your work is your product. Your competition is anyone who does the same type of job or work that you do. You must examine yourself and know your strengths and weaknesses, just like a business would. You may not be able to sell as well as someone else or you may not have as many connections as another person but if you're a better researcher than both of them then you tailor your approach from that angle. You would succeed by doing better targeted research to find the clients who are most compatible and then you don't need to talk to as many people or cast as wide a net as the others.

Individuals in the same line of work still possess many different strengths and weaknesses. Those that succeed are the ones who take better advantage of their strengths and do a better job adapting their "competitive advantages" to the job at hand.

Hopefully you can see why it makes sense to think about yourself in this way. Treat yourself as business and get the most from yourself. I don't mean this in a harsh or cold way but in a personal improvement way.

When it comes to organizing your life, you might also take a different approach if you continue to look at yourself as a business. Thinking of your accomplishments as profits, your goals as earnings targets, and yourself as the product, what would you change or do differently in your life if you were running it as a business? From deciding whether you can reduce costs by living in a different place or apartment or changing your diet to reevaluating how effective your current technology use is, there are many ways to examine your life from an entrepreneurial perspective.

Put the same effort into your everyday life that you would put into a new venture and the change in "revenue" may surprise you.

How to Eat Healthy on a Budget: Learn to Cook in Bulk

So your mom's not there to cook for you and you're now living too far from school to sneak back into the dining hall (besides, your card doesn't work anymore, you've tried). What are you going to do now?

For a lot of kids this is one of the biggest problems they face when it comes to dealing with their new-found freedom. Often times, the solution that's chosen is not a healthy one, for the body and the wallet. Yes, the supermarket has all kinds of prepared food but the things that are good for you come at at premium and the foods that are affordable often take a toll on your health (they're loaded with sodium and preservatives). The Solution? Learn, to cook in bulk.

Cook? Doesn't that take a lot of time? Of course it takes time, anything you do takes time but if you can find one free hour on a weekend, you can cook in bulk. You'll find you actually end up saving yourself a lot of time and money in the long run.

Cook? I can't cook!?! If you made it to college and especially if you graduated, you've proven that you can read, follow directions, and tell time. If you've got those down, you can cook. Granted, you might not be the next Top Chef but that shouldn't stop you from having a little fun in the kitchen.

Moving on to the shopping... I'm sure that by now most of you are aware of the benefits and discounts involved with buying in bulk (Thanks Costco). These same principles are involved with cooking in bulk. The first thing you need to do is develop some dietary staples, or foods and dishes that you don't mind eating frequently. Two or three will suffice and its even better when it comes to reheating if the dishes include a sauce. To be most efficient the dishes should have some ingredients in common.

For our purposes, we'll use simple sweet and sour chicken and chicken parmesan. It can save a good deal of money if you buy a meat that overlaps the dishes. In this example your shopping list would include the following:

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Your Favorite Pasta
• White Rice
• Your Favorite Marinara Sauce
• Sweet and Sour Sauce
• Mozzarella or Parmesan Cheese (Not the kind in the can)
  

You'll note while you're shopping how inexpensive large quantities of these particular items can be. This is a key criteria when it comes to choosing your ingredients.

The other purchase you'll need to make, if you haven't already, is food storage containers (Glad Disposable, Tupperware, and similar products are all fine). Once you start cooking in bulk, you'll become friends with your refrigerator and not just because that's where you keep your beer. Which reminds me, add some beer to your shopping list because well, why not?

Now that you've done some quick planning and have picked up the items you need at the store, you've reached the surprisingly easy part. To start, follow the directions on the package or cook the chicken like this:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
• Brush the chicken lightly with your choice of melted butter or olive oil
• Cook the chicken for 30-35 minutes
• **Always cook chicken until well done, not medium or rare. For chicken breasts, cook to an internal temperature of 170°F. When the chicken is completely cooked, the juices should run clear.
• Presto! The chicken is done.

While the chicken is baking (because that's far healthier than frying it in the skillet), get out three pots. Start cooking the rice and the pasta according to the directions on the box and start warming the marinara sauce. Then, as the chicken finishes baking, turn on the broiler or turn the toaster oven to broil and grab half the chicken breasts. Cover them with sauce and top with the mozzarella or parmesan cheese. Put the chicken in the broiler until the cheese melts.

Next, take the rest of the chicken and cut it up into bite-sized pieces. Mix them with the rice and then mix in the sweet and sour sauce to your liking. Finally, in separate storage containers, store the sweet and sour chicken mix, the cooked pasta, and the chicken parmesan pieces. Put them in the fridge and congratulations you've cooked yourself a meal or five.

In very little time on your weekend, time you probably would have otherwise wasted, you've cooked the majority of your meals for the week or even longer. When you're hungry, just dish some up and heat it in the microwave. Having this food readily available will save you from resorting to unhealthy and expensive quick-food options. The food you've made can even travel with you in small containers. Hopefully, this makes it easier to stop throwing money away on unhealthy fast food lunches at work. In the future, try experimenting with other dishes and find what you like. Making up salads in bulk is another quick and easy option.

Now, to clarify, I'm not saying you should eliminate going out to eat or buying fast food completely. That wouldn't be much fun. Instead, having some staples readily available makes it easier to stay in control of what you're eating and to have a good time when you actually do go out. You won't be worrying about being stretched thin from having wasted money on unhealthy meals all week.

There you have it, you now know all the bulk cooking secrets. Hopefully this post is the first in a series. Check back each week for cool food recipes, tips, and ideas. Have a tip or recipe? Email it to realworldbasic [at] gmail [dot] com or leave a comment.

Tip Basic: Get an Idea Book

If you're like most young adults, ideas, thoughts, plans, and things you want to and have to do fly through your head all the time. You probably don't even remember most of them. You doodle things in class and jot notes at work, you have dreams and ideas all the time. You probably already realize this but are wondering what good these ideas are to you. Ideas are a lot of good, but only if you organize them effectively. This is why one of the most important things you can do for yourself is to get an idea book. Writers and other creative people use them and entrepreneurs are adopting them but anyone can use them. Ask around, I bet you'll be surprised to see who has a book like this. Used correctly they can be an incredible tool for figuring out whatever it is that's on your mind.

Since you don't know exactly who you are yet or what you'll become, you shouldn't rule this out. Who knows what could blossom? I'm sure most of you do it without thinking about it. Now you're going to give a place and a name to your thoughts. It doesn't take much time. You'll be writing down things as they strike you and working on your passions so it shouldn't be that hard to find motivation.

Its equal parts journal, to do list, sketch pad, shopping list, and whatever else you can think of. It can be big or small and what ever form you choose; notebook, binder, a box full of post-it notes, or even index cards. The most important thing is to get your thoughts down and to have a place where you can work on them and develop them. Write down ideas that you don't even think are important, the book is your story and while one piece may not make sense, it is interesting to see what comes together when you read back through. It's pretty tough to reach your dreams and accomplish what you want to do if you don't spend time working at it. Putting ideas on paper also has the added benefit of making you accountable, if only to yourself, when it comes to following through. Try it for a while, who knows what will come together?

Already have an idea book? How do you use it?

Learn To Sell Yourself

No, no, no, of course it wasn't meant like that (got your attention though didn't it?). So you've probably heard something about this from your career center or your parents and probably brushed it off. In this case though, you should have listened. For starters, if you have an entrepreneurial take on the way you live your life, it is likely that you're already familiar with the importance of being able to convey an idea or to present yourself in a way that motivates others to work with you. If you don't think of yourself this way, you should consider starting. You would be surprised how important this way of thinking can be when it comes to separating yourself from the crowd.

In light of my recent experiences in the the post-graduation world, I have come to believe that knowing how to sell or knowing the process of making a sale is an invaluable skill to have. A sale is inherently more complex than someone deciding to make a transaction. A sale involves researching to find and target prospective buyers, developing knowledge and understanding of what it is you are selling, and then articulating this knowledge in a persuasive manner so that the buyer decides that your product or service is a worthy or functional purchase.

Now I bet some of you are wondering how in the world this applies to you, after all you don't want to be a salesperson. You might be surprised to find out that transactions like this happen all the time in areas that you wouldn't necessarily think of as the world of commerce. Ideally, the ability to sell is quite helpful in what could be referred to as human commerce. An excellent example occurs in the process of job searching.

Effectively, when searching for a job, you're selling yourself to potential employers. If done correctly, you will have taken the time to sit down and decide what skills you actually possess, to research and find companies that are in need of those skills, and once you're knowledgeable of your skills be able to tell these companies that you are in fact capable of fulfilling their need. This is an example of why it is vital to know how to sell and is where it becomes a skill that can translate to many facets of life. If you're an entrepreneur this applies to you as well and is probably even more critical to your future success. Many would argue that a little sales knowledge could have saved many failed start ups. Its important to realize that everyday interactions can benefit from sales experience. Getting a loan from a bank, convincing your extended family where to take this years family vacation, and pitching your business plan are all examples of sales you might make.

This may be a bit of an extreme position in the interest of playing devil's advocate but I do believe that the ability to sell can serve you many times over and is essential life skill for anyone, no matter their business or occupation. How important do you think it is to know how to sell? Am I using the correct terms when applying it to real life situations? What experience have you had with this philosophy? Has it helped you?

Reconciling the Real World

Coming out of college, today's students are faced with some distinct realities. More and more students are struggling with the balance between what they want to do and what they need to do to stay afloat and increasing numbers are simply refusing to settle for the latter. Much has been written about this balance but a few standout. As someone who has been contemplating this a lot lately here are some of the things I have found most helpful.

The Brazen Careerist

Penelope Trunk is a former corporate worker who has done extensive thinking into the subject of a balanced life and is one of the few out there who are actively, consciously, and thoughtfully taking steps to do something about it. Her blog should be required reading for anyone but especially those just starting out into the world after graduation.

IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com

The tongue in cheek title of this blog should not take away from the content that's provided within. In the absence of a real life mentor Mr. Sethi would be a good online starting point. Ramit takes the time to logically organize and disperse tips on how to face the difficult battle between finance and enjoyment in the real world while producing some sound financial advice and providing some great tips for entrepreneurs at the same time.

Feld Thoughts

For the entrepreneur, Feld gives interesting insights into the world of venture capital and high tech entrepreneurship along with some poignant writings on business and life as well. If you're looking for inspiration check this blog out its always good to see how the mind works of someone who's already "been there and done that."

In the vein of inspirational blogs that everyone should read, Ben Casnocha's might take the take. Ben has done more than most and hasn't even entered college yet. His blog possess a personal and conversational tone and is a great look into the mind of one of America's most fascinating young entrepreneurial minds.

Life of Meaning

Steven Tomlinson's Blog may be quite different from what you expect out of a blog but it definitely shouldn't be overlooked. The blog consists of one post; one very long post that should be read over and over again. Tomlinson's discussion of the balance between passion and career comes from a high school commencement address given in 2002 and while this may seem interesting and trivial, readers should be slow to dismiss these words coming from one of the instructors at what is arguably the worlds most innovative and rigorous entrepreneurially focused business school; The Acton School of Business in Austin.