David is the CEO of On Deck, a network of communities dedicated to unlocking human potential — helping founders start up and raise early capital, top talent connect with opportunities and explore "what's next" in their careers.

David joins me today to discuss the Silicon Valley ecosystem and what it stands for. We discuss if a founder needs to have experienced the problem being solved as a requirement to start the company. David shares with us how he met his co-founder in On Deck. He talks about why we want more founders in the world. . I ask David how he imparts the Silicon Valley culture without bringing in the less desirable aspects. He also talks about OnDeck’s newest initiative ODX.

On picking a co-founder: “I encourage people to do is go out there and maybe find four or five different people to go on a series of “dates”, maybe take on a project, do some consulting, work together, perhaps don't work on the the one thing that you want to get ultimately solve, because you want to build trust.”        - David Booth

Today on Startups for Good we cover:

  • Knowing if you are ready to start a company
  • The necessary depth of familiarity in your co-founder
  • Launching a new program
  • Managing team growth in a remote world
  • Managing change internally
  • Fundraising

Connect with David on Twitter or the On Deck website

The Evolve Podcast that Miles mentioned is available here

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