In this special episode of the Give First podcast, Brad Feld and Sameer Dholakia revisit the origins of Pledge 1%, the global movement helping startups build philanthropy into their business from the start.

What began as a simple conversation in Boulder between Brad and Rally Software co-founder Ryan Martens grew into a worldwide initiative championed by Salesforce, Atlassian, Techstars, and thousands of founders who have pledged 1% of equity, time, or product to social impact.

Brad and Sameer trace how a local idea became a global force for good, fueling billions in new philanthropy and inspiring the next generation of founders to make giving part of their growth story.

Sameer Dholakia ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sameerdholakia/

Pledge 1% ➡️ https://www.pledge1percent.org/

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In this episode of the Give First podcast, Brad Feld sits down with Sameer Dholakia, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners and former CEO of SendGrid, the first Techstars company to go public.

When Sameer joined SendGrid, growth was slowing and the company was losing money. Under his leadership, it became a $250M business, went public, and was later acquired by Twilio.

Sameer shares the story of how his mother’s advice shaped his approach to leadership and why empathy and clarity became his greatest tools as a CEO. From his first days stepping into a nervous team, to navigating “oh sh*t” moments on the path to IPO, Sameer reflects on the lessons that defined his career, and how they continue to guide his work with founders today.

Sameer Dholakia ➡️ LinkedIn

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In this episode of the Give First podcast, Brad Feld sits down with Robert Glazer, 5x entrepreneur, #1 Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, and author of the new book The Compass Within.

Robert shares his framework for uncovering personal core values, the principles that guide decisions, relationships, and leadership. The conversation explores why many people are climbing the wrong mountains, how self-awareness shapes growth, and why aligning words with actions may be the most important skill any founder or leader can develop.

Find out more about Robert Glazer here ➡️ robertglazer.com

Follow Robert Glazer on LinkedIn ➡️ linkedin.com/in/glazer

The Compass Within is out today, order your copy here ➡️ robertglazer.com/compass

Check out the Six Core Values Questions page ➡️ robertglazer.com/six

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