Joe Vasquez has been involved in startups ever since. While he was at Stanford University, he co-founded StartX Accelerator – one of the top accelerators in USA. For the last couple years he’s been managing partnerships at Runway Incubator. Now he is starting Michelson Runway Accelerator that focuses on educational technology.Joe was born deaf, but as he says, he has the ability to listen incredibly well (not to mention that he also fluently speaks several languages!). Joe strongly emphasizes the importance of empathy, listening to users and continuous learning – components of lean startup method that Joe implements in his programs.In the interview we talk about: Why Joe decided to focus on startups that are working on improving educational system? What was his experience in gaining education as a deaf child? What’s the difference between an accelerator and an incubator? Do accelerators in Silicon Valley compete with each other? What’s the most common mistake that startup founders make? Is it true that Silicon Valley is very welcoming to the founders who have failed before? What founders should remember about in their pitch to investors? How they can make the best use of Silicon Valley when they arrive here?You can also watch the interview at www.valleytalks.com.A lovely shout out to our partners Runway Incubator, StyleBee and our sponsor UnStock – an on demand community and marketplace for mobile videographers!