1. Boulder is an excellent town to brew startups. The ecosystem is good for ventures in the range of USD $1M to USD $20M or so. With exception of Rally Software and Sengrid, most ventures have the tendency to remain small or get acquired. One of the reasons for this phenomenon is the fact that Boulder fails at attracting leaders that can actually scale ventures. Having interacted with quite the arrange of international entrepreneurs, the feedback I receive is that Boulder is not a cosmopolitan place. It doesn't have cultural or demographic diversity. One of the starting points to attract talent is to work on cultural/demographic diversity. One can't pretend to be the next Silicon Valley when leadership is in the hands of a single racial majority.
2. Investors in general are interested in large returns with a very specific payback period. As such, Boulder has become a Mecca for tech startups predominantly. That approach leaves behind other types of ventures that can contribute to a more diverse ecosystem. Investors, who really want to create ecosystem diversity, should begin thinking outside the scope of just tech startups. Fortunately, Boulder has the natural and organic products scene. I am not well versed in how much local money gets invested in this sector.
3. Given the over emphasis placed on tech startups, there is an overabundance of incubators that brew "tech entrepreneurs". As such, we have created an excess of idea supply with not enough demand to justify it. Entrepreneurs end up competing fiercely for scarce Series A rounds. Fierce competition causes entrepreneurs to scale at rates that are simply not sustainable in the long run. As such, cash flow problems arise and most startups end up failing prior to the famous Series A crunch. I wonder what role investors play in this arena.
How many more pitch seminars, incubators, tech conferences, accelerators and alike do we really need? The tech startup scene is beginning to look quite similar to the Self Help Bookshelf in Amazon.com. What I find interesting is that large amounts of money are being made in the "Startup: You Can Do It" motivational space. I wonder if failure to scale is really a motivational issue.
4. Because of the overabundance of tech startups, investors are now demanding product traction rates that are unrealistic for every single startup. They are also advocating lean methodologies that are not necessarily realistic for every individual case. Eventhough I understand that our human tendency is to behave like cows, we need to start thinking whether Eric Ries's advice applies to every single business model. Cows, by the way, follow each other out of fear.
In my mind: Lean + Strong Traction + Small Exceptional Team = Larger Investor Return
5. Local entrepreneurs are not placing enough focus to the tremendous opportunity that exists in emerging markets. As such, they all compete for the US market leaving behind other less crowded opportunities available internationally.
6. If we want to improve our local startup scene, I think we need to begin thinking outside the box. I believe that a more international scene is key.