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David Brown interviews Eric Paley of Founder Collective

January 20, 2017

Eric Paley is a former consultant (but he wishes he wasn’t), the co-founder and former CEO of Brontes and Abstract Edge, and current Managing Partner at Founder Collective. The prolific venture capitalist holds an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth, and an MBA from Harvard, where he is currently their Entrepreneur in Residence.

As part of Startup Grind‘s fireside chat series, David Brown of the Chamber sat down with Eric and spoke everything from building a strong team, to taking down [patent] trolls – here are some highlights from the talk:

  • Eric explains what an “off the charts” founder is and how someone can strive to become one (38:30-40:30)
  • Next, he dives into additional key attributes that he looks for in an exceptional entrepreneur (43:30)
  • Eric explains how one can build that that strong circle around you (56:00) – and that team includes great salespeople (but not in the door to door sense)
  • Eric weighs in on mentor relationships: “If you’re doing ambitious things in your world, whether it’s in an already existing business or a business you want to start – talented people related to that world should appreciate what you’re doing…you have to use your charisma to build those relationship” (103:50)
  • Eric speaks about the advantages and disadvantages of starting a company in Boston (106:40)
  • Eric talks about his stances on the latest policy issues (1:14:00)
  • Eric takes questions from the audience, and busts up a major startup landscape myth (2:02:40) – “The other biggest myth in the startup world is it’s about money. It’s not about money. If you’re starting companies because you think you’re going to get rich, go do something else”

Special thank you to Carlos Cardenas, Boston Director of Startup Grind for lending us the use of this video.

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