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📢【新聞標題】
Brad Feld on ‘Give First’ and the art of mentorship at any age
布拉德·費爾德談“先予後取”和任何年齡的指導藝術
📰【摘要】
Brad Feld discusses his "Give First" philosophy, emphasizing helping others without expecting immediate returns, and how this approach fosters meaningful connections and opportunities. He also touches on the importance of mentorship, setting boundaries, and the value of vulnerability in leadership.
布拉德·費爾德討論了他的“先予後取”哲學，強調幫助他人而不期望立即回報，以及這種方法如何培養有意義的聯繫和機會。 他還談到了指導的重要性、設定界限以及領導力中脆弱性的價值。
🗝️【關鍵詞彙表】
📝 philosophy (n.)
- 哲學、理念
- 例句: This philosophy goes beyond traditional pay-it-forward thinking.
- 翻譯: 這種理念超越了傳統的「現買現賣」思維。
📝 mentorship (n.)
- 指導、師徒關係
- 例句: This book is really about mentorship in its different forms.
- 翻譯: 這本書實際上是關於不同形式的指導。
📝 boundaries (n.)
- 界限、限制
- 例句: You also talk about the importance of setting boundaries to avoid burnout.
- 翻譯: 您還談到了設定界限以避免倦怠的重要性。
📝 vulnerability (n.)
- 脆弱性、弱點
- 例句: Why vulnerability might be the most important leadership skill.
- 翻譯: 為什麼脆弱性可能是最重要的領導技能。
📝 hypotheses (n.)
- 假設
- 例句: The magic in entrepreneurship is having lots of hypotheses, testing them quickly, and learning when most fail.
- 翻譯: 創業的魔力在於擁有很多假設，快速測試它們，並了解大多數何時失敗。
📝 assertions (n.)
- 斷言、聲明
- 例句: They present them as assertions.
- 翻譯: 他們將其呈現為斷言。
📝 synthesize (v.)
- 綜合、整合
- 例句: It’s less “choose your own adventure” and more synthesizing things that make sense in your context.
- 翻譯: 這不是「選擇你自己的冒險」，而是更多地綜合那些在你的背景下有意義的事情。
📝 predictive power (n.)
- 預測能力
- 例句: Right now, there is almost zero predictive power associated with anything anyone is saying.
- 翻譯: 目前，幾乎沒有人說的任何話具有預測能力。
✍️【文法與句型】
📝 be willing to (v.)
- 說明: Expressing a readiness or eagerness to do something.
- 翻譯: 願意做...
- 例句: The idea was that if you want a startup community to really move, you need people willing to put energy in without defining upfront what they’ll get back.
- 翻譯: 這個想法是，如果你想讓一個新創社群真正發展，你需要人們願意投入精力，而不用事先定義他們會得到什麼回報。
📝 There’s a lot of…
- 說明: Used to indicate a significant amount or degree of something.
- 翻譯: 有很多...
- 例句: There’s a lot of that in the book.
- 翻譯: 書中有很多這方面的內容。
📝 isn’t related to
- 說明: Expressing a lack of connection or correlation between two things.
- 翻譯: 與...無關
- 例句: Your ability to be effective as a mentor isn’t related to your success or experience — it’s a way of being.
- 翻譯: 你作為導師的有效性與你的成功或經驗無關，而是一種存在方式。
📖【全文與翻譯】
Brad Feld has spent decades operating by a simple principle: give without expecting anything in return.
布拉德·費爾德幾十年來一直遵循一個簡單的原則：給予而不期望任何回報。
This philosophy goes beyond traditional pay-it-forward thinking, he says.
他說，這種哲學超越了傳統的「現買現賣」思維。
It’s about helping others, knowing only that meaningful connections and opportunities will emerge organically over time if you do.
這是關於幫助他人，只要知道如果你這樣做，有意義的聯繫和機會會隨著時間的推移而有機地出現。
The entrepreneur and VC, who began angel investing in the 1990s, rose to prominence through his candid blog “Feld Thoughts,” which pulled back the curtain on the then-secretive venture industry and sparked countless discussions across Silicon Valley.
這位企業家和風險投資家在 1990 年代開始進行天使投資，透過他坦率的部落格“Feld Thoughts”而聲名鵲起，該部落格揭開了當時秘密的風險投資行業的面紗，並在矽谷引發了無數的討論。
After decades as an investor and co-founding both Techstars and the venture firm Foundry Group — which backed hundreds of companies over 18 years before deciding to stop raising new funds in early 2024 — Feld has distilled his approach to business and life into his latest book, “Give First.”
在擔任投資者數十年並共同創立了 Techstars 和風險投資公司 Foundry Group 之後（該公司在決定於 2024 年初停止籌集新資金之前，在 18 年的時間裡支持了數百家公司），費爾德將他對商業和生活的方式提煉成他的最新著作“先予後取”。
TechCrunch talked with Feld last week about mentorship, boundaries, and why vulnerability might be the most important leadership skill.
TechCrunch 上週與費爾德談論了指導、界限，以及為什麼脆弱性可能是最重要的領導技能。
You’ve been thinking about this “Give First” concept for over a decade. What finally pushed you to write the book now?
你已經考慮“先予後取”這個概念十多年了。 是什麼最終促使你現在寫這本書？
This is my ninth book, and I was getting close to being done with writing nonfiction; I’m interested in exploring science fiction writing.
這是我寫的第九本書，我快要完成非小說的寫作了； 我有興趣探索科幻小說的寫作。
The intersection of maybe this being my last book and really wanting to capture these ideas made me sit down about three years ago.
也許這是我的最後一本書，以及我真的很想捕捉這些想法的交叉點，促使我大約在三年前坐下來寫作。
The concept emerged in 2012 in my “Startup Communities” book as a paragraph called “Give Before You Get.”
這個概念於 2012 年在我的“創業社群”一書中以一個名為“先予後取”的段落出現。
The idea was that if you want a startup community to really move, you need people willing to put energy in without defining upfront what they’ll get back.
這個想法是，如果你想讓一個新創社群真正發展，你需要人們願意投入精力，而不用事先定義他們會得到什麼回報。
It’s not altruism — they’ll get something, but they don’t know when, from whom, over what time period, or in what form.
這不是利他主義——他們會得到一些東西，但他們不知道何時、從何人、在什麼時間段或以什麼形式得到。
You were once seemingly everywhere, then you pulled way back. After taking a two-year break from public life, what brought you back?
你曾經似乎無處不在，然後你又退了回來。 在離開公共生活兩年後，是什麼讓你回來了？
I decided I didn’t want to be involved in anything public-facing. I was tired and burnt out.
我決定我不想參與任何面向公眾的事情。 我很累，而且精疲力竭。
I focused on behind-the-scenes work, which meant [my wife] Amy and I were together all the time because I wasn’t distracted by other stuff.
我專注於幕後工作，這意味著我和艾米一直在一起，因為我沒有被其他事情分心。
That’s been really satisfying.
這真的令人滿意。
When David Cohen came back as CEO of Techstars a year ago, I told him I’d engage as much as he wanted, but I still didn’t feel like being public.
一年前，當大衛·科恩回來擔任 Techstars 的 CEO 時，我告訴他我會盡他所能參與，但我仍然不想公開露面。
Working with him on strategy got me super deep back into it. I also took the [book draft] off the shelf, looked at it, and thought, “This is pretty good.”
與他一起制定策略讓我又深入其中。 我也從架子上拿下了[書籍草稿]，看了一下，心想：「這還不錯。」
This book is really about mentorship in its different forms. You also talk about the importance of setting boundaries to avoid burnout. There’s a reason for the adage ‘no good deed goes unpunished.’ How should mentors protect themselves while still giving generously?
這本書實際上是關於不同形式的指導。 你還談到了設定界限以避免倦怠的重要性。 俗話說「沒有白做的善事」，這是原因的。 導師如何在慷慨付出的同時保護自己？
There’s a lot of that in the book. I’ve been very open about mental health struggles to help destigmatize these issues. . .and there aren’t absolute answers to the question.
書中有很多這方面的內容。 我一直對心理健康問題非常坦誠，以幫助消除這些問題的污名。 。 。而且這個問題沒有絕對的答案。
One challenge when you’re willing to contribute energy without being transactional is that there are people who can’t do that, or who are extractors.
當你願意貢獻精力而不進行交易時，一個挑戰是有些人無法做到這一點，或者他們是榨取者。
Adam Grant describes this spectrum in “Give and Take,” with givers on one end, takers on the other, and traders in the middle.
亞當·格蘭特在《給予與獲取》中描述了這個範圍，一端是給予者，另一端是索取者，中間是交易者。
Most of our world, really, is traders to takers. Over the short term, takers can do extremely well, but over the long term, people at the giver end are much more successful when success isn’t simply measured as power and money.
實際上，我們的大部分世界都是交易者到索取者。 從短期來看，索取者可以做得非常好，但從長期來看，當成功不僅僅以權力和金錢來衡量時，給予者一方的人會更成功。
You emphasize the importance of saying “I don’t know” when mentoring. Why is that so crucial?
你強調在指導時說「我不知道」的重要性。 為什麼這如此重要？
It’s extremely harmful to new founders when experienced, successful people position themselves as having the answer to everything.
當有經驗的成功人士將自己定位為擁有所有問題的答案時，這對新創始人來說是非常有害的。
The magic in entrepreneurship is having lots of hypotheses, testing them quickly, and learning when most fail.
創業的魔力在於擁有很多假設，快速測試它們，並了解大多數何時失敗。
We’re in an environment where people can’t present things as hypotheses. They present them as assertions.
我們所處的環境是人們無法將事情呈現為假設。 他們將其呈現為斷言。
The blurring between opinion and fact is a mess. The best mentors provide data and hypotheses, not assertions about what you should do.
意見和事實之間的模糊是一團糟。 最好的導師提供數據和假設，而不是關於你應該做什麼的斷言。
One of [my] mentor manifesto phrases is “guide, don’t control.” Sometimes you do know the answer, but anyone who’s been a great manager knows the best way to get commitment is to get people to make the commitment themselves.
[我的]導師宣言中的一句話是「引導，而不是控制」。 有時你確實知道答案，但任何一位偉大的管理者都知道，獲得承諾的最佳方式是讓人們自己做出承諾。
There’s a lot of opinion shopping that goes on behind the scenes. How should founders navigate conflicting advice from multiple mentors?
幕後有很多意見購物。 創始人應該如何應對來自多位導師的衝突建議？
When I got feedback on my first draft [of the book] from 25 people, I absolutely got conflicting information.
當我從 25 個人那裡獲得關於我的第一份[書籍]草稿的回饋時，我絕對得到了衝突的信息。
The more mentors can make feedback from their own experience, the more useful it is.
導師越能根據自己的經驗提出回饋，回饋就越有用。
Instead of saying “here’s what you should do,” they should say, “here’s an experience I had that’s similar, and here’s what I did.”
他們不應該說「這是你應該做的事」，而應該說「這是我有過的類似經驗，這是我所做的事」。
If mentees listen that way, mentor whiplash is no big deal; you’re getting multiple data points from multiple experiences. It’s less “choose your own adventure” and more synthesizing things that make sense in your context, making a decision, communicating it back to mentors, and then having them commit and support you.
如果學員以這種方式傾聽，導師的意見分歧就沒什麼大不了的； 你會從多種經驗中獲得多個數據點。 這不是「選擇你自己的冒險」，而是更多地綜合那些在你的背景下有意義的事情，做出決定，將其傳達回給導師，然後讓他們承諾並支持你。
At what point is someone ready to be a mentor?
在什麼時候，一個人準備好成為導師？
Here’s the magic trick of mentorship: the best mentor-mentee relationships become peer relationships where the mentor learns as much from the mentee as the mentee learns from the mentor.
這是指導的魔術：最好的導師和學員關係變成同伴關係，導師從學員那裡學到的東西和學員從導師那裡學到的東西一樣多。
That means essentially anyone can be a mentor at any point.
這意味著基本上任何人都可以隨時成為導師。
Some of the people I’ve learned the most from are at the very beginning of their careers—people still in college, running their first company.
我從中學到最多東西的一些人正處於他們職業生涯的初期——他們仍然在上大學，經營著他們的第一家公司。
My friend Rajat Bhargava was 21 when we started working together in 1994. The amount we’ve learned from each other since then is unreal.
我的朋友 Rajat Bhargava 在 1994 年我們開始一起工作時 21 歲。 從那以後我們互相學習到的東西是不真實的。
There are very successful, experienced people who are awful mentors, and people early on with little experience who are extraordinary mentors. Your ability to be effective as a mentor isn’t related to your success or experience — it’s a way of being.
有些非常成功、有經驗的人是非常糟糕的導師，也有些早期經驗不足的人是非常出色的導師。 你作為導師的有效性與你的成功或經驗無關，而是一種存在方式。
How does this philosophy apply during times like now, where we’re seeing massive layoffs in tech, disruption from AI in everything . . .
這種哲學如何應用於現在這樣的時期，我們看到科技領域的大規模裁員，人工智能在一切領域的破壞。 。 。
Right now, there is almost zero predictive power associated with anything anyone is saying. We’re so disconnected from understanding what will actually happen.
目前，幾乎沒有人說的任何話具有預測能力。 我們與理解實際會發生什麼事情脫節了。
The very loud, extreme pronouncements people are making have the lowest predictive power I’ve ever seen.
人們發出的非常響亮、極端的聲明具有我見過的最低預測能力。
We’re living in a space where it’s loud and jarring, but I’m hopeful this stuff is timeless. My goal with this book isn’t for people to say I got it right. It’s to stimulate people to think differently about some things, or reinforce what they’re already thinking in an additive way.
我們生活在一個喧鬧而刺耳的空間裡，但我希望這些東西是永恆的。 我寫這本書的目的不是讓人們說我做對了。 這是為了激發人們以不同的方式思考一些事情，或者以累加的方式強化他們已經在思考的事情。
You’re still managing funds and assets dating back almost two decades. Any final thoughts on stepping back from the traditional venture model?
你仍在管理著近二十年前的資金和資產。 對於退出傳統的風險投資模式有什麼最終想法嗎？
Amy and I say it all the time: we’re all going to die. We don’t know when that day is. What are you going to do with your precious life? The number of people hanging on to relevance by their fingernails in their 70s and 80s . . . if that gives you meaning, awesome. But for many, the answer [to the question of whether or not to do that] is not yes.
艾米和我經常說：我們都會死的。 我們不知道那一天是什麼時候。 你打算如何度過你寶貴的一生？ 許多七八十歲的人都在竭力維持自己的影響力。 。 。如果這能給你帶來意義，那太棒了。 但對於許多人來說，[對於是否這樣做的問題]的答案是否定的。
🔗【資料來源】
文章連結：https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/25/brad-feld-on-give-first-and-the-art-of-mentorship-at-any-age/