Brad Feld has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for over twenty years. He’s the Managing Director of Foundry Group and also a co-founder of Techstars. In the book he co-authored with David Cohan – Do More Faster, the founders of TechStars identify the key issues that first-time entrepreneurs encounter, and offer proven advice from successful entrepreneurs who have worked with the TechStars program.
1, Where does your motivation come from?
I am motivated by learning. I’ve written about this at http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2010/10/intrinsic-motivation.html
2, When and where are you most productive?
Early in the morning – between 5am and 9am – before the rest of the world gets going. I try to spend a chunk of it in front of my computer and the rest out on a trail somewhere running.
3, How do you manage distractions? eg Twitter, email etc
I don’t try to manage it. My day from 9am until 6pm is very scheduled – I rarely get phone calls – all my phone calls are scheduled. My assistent keeps me moving. I schedule everything in 30 minute blocks – a lot of it takes 5 to 10 minutes so I have nice gaps to do email and catch up on stuff throughout the day.
4, What are your sleep patterns like, and how much do you exercise?
I’m a binge sleeper. During the week I generally go to be between 10 and midnight and get up every morning at 5am. I fly a lot and sleep from wheels up to wheels down. On Friday and Saturday night I sleep until I wake up – often 12 – 14 hours. I run five to six days a week – I’m trying to do a marathon in every state (I’ve done 16 of them).