Paul Bragiel of i/o ventures #232

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On This Week in Startups, serial entrepreneur turned startup mentor Paul Bragiel joins Jason for a chat. Paul, a partner at the accelerator i/o ventures, is passionate about working with smart people on sexy technology, and shares some of what he looks for in a winning team with the TWiST audience.

0:00-2:00 Today we have Paul Bragiel, managing director of the accelerator i/o ventures with us.
2:00-2:45 Your accelerator is actually a physical location that people work out of, right?
2:45-5:00 Thank you so much to MailChimp for their support. Everyone thank @mailchimp!
5:00-6:00 Do you send email updates about i/o ventures?
6:00-7:45 What is the mission of i/o ventures and how is it different from Y Combinator?
7:45-9:00 What’s the story? Do you shampoo that beard?
9:00-10:00 Who are the other people working in your office?
10:00-10:30 How many people have graduated?
10:30-11:30 How much do the companies get and how much equity do you take?
11:30-12:00 Is blatantly ripping off someone’s idea the worst thing in the world?
12:00-13:45 Jason reveals a story about meeting with a successful investor in Germany at the DLD Conference who warned him about the Samwer brothers.
13:45-16:00 What’s the difference between stealing artistically and ripping something off?
16:00-17:00 Who’s to blame for enabling pieces of garbage like them?
17:00-19:00 So after two classes, do you feel like the quality is going down?
19:00-20:15 How much more did it cost to start a company ten years ago?
20:15-20:30 Have there been any lawsuits over the mandatory beard rule in your program?
20:30-21:45 Where does the money come from that you invest in the companies?
21:45-24:15 How much of what you provide for companies is coaching versus teaching skills?
24:15-26:30 Thank you to GoToMeeting for their support! Everyone thank @gotomeeting!
28:00-31:00 Take me through the process of when you’re reading an application, what are you thinking? What’s the first thing you look for?
31:00-32:45 What’s next, after you’ve looked at the person?
32:45-34:30 You don’t need the money, so why are you doing this?
34:30-37:30 How many of the people you accept every year are established in the Valley or are most people new to the area?
37:30-40:30 Is it possible to build a big company with a minimal viable product?
40:30-42:45 What was the best idea from Web 1.0 that didn’t make it?
42:45-45:15 What are some companies that have graduated that you’re most proud of?
45:15-46:45 Is there an angel bubble right now?
46:45-48:30 Is your advice to companies to raise as much money as possible out of the gate or only to take what you need?
48:30-49:00 What did Lefora do?
49:00-50:30 What do you think are the key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs?
50:30-51:00 You have literally hundreds of applications to go through, don’t you?
51:00-51:30 What’s the best way for people to get in touch with you?
51:30-52:30 You’ve got an amazing mentor list.
52:30-54:00 And you’re going to give a slot to a company from the LAUNCH Festival, right?
54:30-56:00 Paul announces that i/o ventures is about to do the first seed fund in sub-Saharan Africa.
56:00-56:30 What’s the new definition of samwer?
56:30-57:00 Paul, you’ve been an amazing guest and I think you’re doing great work. I wish you continued success. Thank you to GoToMeeting and MailChimp and we’ll see you next time.

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FOLLOW ON TWITTER
Jason: @jason
Paul: @bragiel
MailChimp: @mailchimp
GoToMeeting: @gotomeeting

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