David Cohen is the founder and Exective Director of
TechStars.
David has a soft spot for technology startups and enjoys helping innovative
early stage technology companies succeed. He also has a passion for Colorado and
believes it’s a fantastic community for any startup. The Colorado TechStars
program combines these passions with capital, connections and real-world
experience to provide a unique opportunity for early stage startups.
David is a founder of several software and web technology companies including
Pinpoint Technologies (now ZOLL Data
Systems) of Broomfield, Colorado. While at ZOLL Data Systems, David was also
the CTO. The company was acquired by ZOLL Medical Corporation (NASDAQ: ZOLL)
in 1999. You can read about it in No
Vision, All Drive [Amazon]. David was also the founder and CEO of earFeeder.com, which was sold to
SonicSwap.com in 2006.
David is also an active startup advocate, advisor, board member, and
technology investor who comments on these topics on his blog at ColoradoStartups.com. He is also a
member of the Board of Advisors of the Center of Innovation at Metropolitan
State College of Denver.
David’s hobbies are technology, software/web startups, business history, and
tennis. He has two amazing kids who always seem to be teaching him something
new.
Brad has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for over twenty years.
Prior to co-founding Foundry Group,
he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity
Ventures, a company that helped launch and operate software companies and later
became a venture affiliate of the predecessor to Mobius Venture Capital.
Brad currently serves on the board of directors of Gnip, Oblong, and Zynga Game Network for Foundry Group.
Previously, Brad served as chief technology officer of AmeriData Technologies.
AmeriData acquired Feld Technologies, a firm he founded in 1987 that specialized
in custom software applications. Brad had grown Feld Technologies into one of
Boston’s leading software consulting firms prior to the acquisition. He also
directed the diversification into software consulting at AmeriData, a $1.5
billion publicly-traded company which was acquired by GE Capital in 1995.
In addition to his investing efforts, Brad has been active with several
non-profit organizations and currently is chairman of the National Center for
Women & Information Technology and co-chairman of the Colorado Governor’s
Innovation Council. Brad is a nationally recognized speaker on the topics of
venture capital investing and entrepreneurship and writes widely read and well
respected blogs at www.feld.com and www.askthevc.com.
Notable companies that Brad has invested in and/or sat on the boards of
include Abuzz (acq. NYT), Anyday.com (acq. PALM), Critical Path (CPTH), Cyanea
(acq. IBM), Dante Group (acq. WEBM), DataPower (acq. IBM), FeedBurner (acq. by
GOOG), Feld Group (acq. by EDS), Harmonix (acq. VIA), NetGenesis (IPO),
ServiceMagic (acq. IACI), and ServiceMetrics (acq. EXDS).
Brad holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Management
Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Brad is also an avid art
collector and long-distance runner. He has completed ten marathons as part of
his mission to run a marathon in each of the fifty states.
Jared was still in college when he co-founded his first
company, American Information Systems, an internet access, web hosting and
application service provider. Growing up in the family’s Boulder-based greeting
card and publishing business, Blue Mountain Arts, he succeeded his grandmother
as sales manager in 1996. Jared caught the attention of the e-business world by
co-founding BlueMountainArts.com, an
online greeting card website which he sold to Excite@Home three years later. In
1998, he launched a web company to sell flowers direct from growers to consumers
(ProFlowers.com) that has expanded to
become Provide Commerce, Inc. (PRVD),
one of the fastest-growing and most successful online start-ups.
Jared was named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000, and one
of the top ten young entrepreneurs by Success Magazine.
In 2001, he founded Sonora Entertainment Group, which has developed a chain
of movie theaters that screen first-run Hollywood films dubbed or subtitled in
Spanish. Cinema Latino is currently operating in Fort Worth and Pasadena, Texas;
Phoenix, Arizona; and Aurora, CO.
Civic and Philanthropic
Jared won statewide election in 2000 to the Colorado Board of Education,
where he has been a strong advocate for school reform and enhancing educational
opportunities. He currently serves as Vice Chairman. That same year he launched
his own foundation to further pursue his passion for improving and expanding
access to education.
Jared has founded two innovative charter schools that meet the needs of
underserved students. In 2004, seeing the difficulty faced by older immigrant
youth in mainstream public schools, he established the New America School to
extend the benefits of English literacy and a high school liberal arts education
to all students. One year later, seeing the challenges faced by teens who
struggle with homelessness or unstable living conditions, he co-founded the
Academy of Urban Learning which opened in the Fall of 2005.
Recognizing the enormous commitment and importance of teachers, Jared created
a program called “Celebrating Educators” that has awarded hundreds of teachers
with micro-grants and other expressions of appreciation.
In 2001, Jared launched the Community Computer Connection program which
supports education through technology, attempting to bridge the digital divide
by distributing 3,000 computers a year to low-income students through schools
and non-profit organizations.
Today, Polis’ work to improve public education and ensure that all people
have the opportunity to succeed puts him in touch with a wide variety of related
policy issues including the need for accessible, quality health care; sound
economic policies; environmental protection; and financial security for the
elderly and disabled.
He played an instrumental role in the passage of Amendment 23, an amendment
to the Colorado Constitution that has been responsible for preventing cutbacks
in K-12 education that otherwise would have occurred over the past several
years. He also helped found the Democratic Education Initiative, a statewide
group developing vision and strategy for education reform.
Jared is active with a broad range of charitable and other non-profit
organizations. He serves on the Boards of Colorado Conservation Voters (CCV) and
the Watershed School, and is Vice-Chair of the Colorado Commission for High
School Improvement. He is Chairman of the Commission on the Status of Financial
Education, established by the National Association of State Boards of Education.
Jared is a recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Colorado Humanitarian Award
and was recognized as the Outstanding Young Coloradoan by the Colorado
Jaycees.
He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Princeton
University and lives in Boulder
David is a serial entrepreneur who has founded two software
startups and been involved with three others.
David is one of the original founders of Pinpoint Technologies, Inc. which is
now ZOLL Data Systems and provides
solutions to the emergency medical services market.
David has a B.Sc. degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from McGill
University in Montreal, Canada. As a ski instructor in the past, David still
enjoys hitting the slopes on a good powder day.
