Lars Hinrichs - 10 Big Lessons from Hackfwd
I would like to announce that we have stopped accepting new startups into HackFwd three years, three months and three days after we first began supporting Europe’s most passionate geeks.
I wish I could be pithy, but there’s a bigger story worth telling. If you’ll indulge me, I’d love to share my thoughts about what we did right and what we did wrong.
After I left XING, I went traveling with my family for several months. The trip was long overdue; after seven years of constant work, I needed the time and space to really imagine my next steps. I arrived home with 15 new business ideas, but I knew I couldn’t pursue any of them in earnest until I sold most of my shares in XING. While traveling I had realized that I was — both literally and figuratively — still far too attached to that company. In order to give my next venture its due, I needed to completely free up some headspace.
But I didn’t look for the highest bidder. When it comes to deal-making, I never do. Instead, I searched for people who had the most thoughtful answers to three simple questions:
