20 VC 037: How To Get a Job at a Startup, Startup Lessons and Brad Feld's 'Open Office Hours' with Tak Lo, Director @ Techstars

Tak Lo is Director at Techstars, helping entrepreneurs do more faster – on both sides of the Atlantic through Techstars London and Techstars NYC. Tak is also Founder at Travelst and Frontlyst. Prior to his road to entrepreneurship, Tak was a Consultant at Deloitte, Booz Allen Hamilton and was a specialist in the US ARMY. In today’s incredible episode Tak shares his lessons from his own startup experience, the required reading for all entrepreneurs and of course when thinking TechStars, how can we not discuss the man himself, Brad Feld, and how Tak has adopted Brad’s use of open office hours.

Items Mentioned in Today’s Show:

• Must Read Tech Blogs: Fred Wilson, Brad Feld Thoughts, Tomas Tunguz: Redpoint Capital, Christopher Janz: Point Nine Capital  

• Must Read Books: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Adam Grant: Give and Take, Peter Thiel: Zero to One, Ben Horowitz: The Hard Thing About Hard Things

• Must Have Apps: Buffer: Save Time On Your Social Media, Feedly: The Stories You Need To Keep Ahead

• Networking Tools: Silicon Drinkabout, Meetup 

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

• How and why Tak made the transition first from the army to a career in consulting and then what made Tak take the entrepreneurial route and start his own company?

• Tak is renknowned for the amazing service and contribution he brings to every startup. What services does Tak bring and what does Tak feel all entrepreneurs and advisors must add?

• Does Tak back singular founders, or does he prefer a founding team?

• Tak is a Specialist on Leadership, for founders wanting to gain or develop their leadership skills, what can founders do, read or learn to further their leadership skills?

• For individuals contemplating moving into the tech world, how do they know which is the right job? Are there any immediate aspects they must look for or be wary of?

• What are the biggest misconceptions of the tech industry?

• How can people find out about networking events

• What sector Tak believes is the next to be disrupted and why?

• What is the premise behind Brad Feld’s ‘Open Office Hours’? Why has Tak decided to adopt this tactic? What does Tak hope to gain from it? How is it going so far?

We then finish today’s episode with a lightning round, hearing Tak’s thoughts on the greatest leader and why, the future of the asian tech market, his favourite book and why and his most recent investment and why he said yes?

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