Business incubators of the United States
| Company type | LLC |
|---|---|
| Founded | Colorado, United States (2006, as Techstars, LLC.) |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | Maëlle Gavet (CEO) David Cohen (Co-founder, Chairman) Brad Feld (Co-founder) Jared Polis (Co-founder) |
| Website | techstars |
Techstars is a pre-seed investor that provides access to capital, mentorship, and other support for early-stage entrepreneurs. It was founded in 2006 in Boulder, Colorado. As of January 2024, the company had accepted over 4,100 companies into its accelerator programs with a combined market capitalization of $106bn USD.[1] Techstars operates accelerator programs in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.[2]
Techstars was founded in Boulder, Colorado, by David Cohen, Brad Feld, David Brown, and Jared Polis in 2006. Initially, Techstars invested between $6,000 and $18,000 in early stage companies, providing entrepreneurs with mentorship during a three month accelerator program.[3]
The company held its first program in Boulder in 2007 with ten companies.[4] Of the ten, two were acquired that same year. As of 2012, three had achieved positive exits and two were generating millions in annual revenue.[5] In subsequent years, Techstars expanded to Boston, Seattle, New York City, a "cloud" program in San Antonio, and Austin.[6][7][8][9]
In January 2011, Techstars launched the Global Accelerator Network (GAN), which links 22 similar programs internationally.[10][11] The network was launched in conjunction with President Barack Obama's Startup America Partnership.[12] GAN is now an independently operated organization. Techstars has also supported the formation of Patriot Boot Camp.[13]
In 2017, Techstars partnered with the venture capital firm Partech Ventures to expand its program to Paris,[14] and in September of the same year was contracted to work with the United States Air Force's new technology accelerator AFwerX.[15] At the beginning of 2019 Techstars started another European program around smart cities in Amsterdam with their corporate partner Arcadis.[16] In 2021, Maëlle Gavet became CEO.[17]
In 2017 Techstars became the first US accelerator to build an office in the UAE. [18]
In 2022 Techstars expanded its work into Africa.[19]
In 2022, Techstars and J.P. Morgan raised $80 million to invest in over 400 companies through 2024; the fund focuses on POC entrepreneurs.[20]
In December 2023, the group announced it would pause its Austin operation.[21] Just a few months later, in February 2024, Techstars announced that it would be moving its headquarters from Boulder to New York,[22] where its CEO lives, and closing the Boulder and Seattle accelerators.[23] The decision was criticized by a former Seattle staffer and others in the startup community.[24]
Techstars is a pre-seed investor that provides access to capital, one-on-one mentorship, a worldwide network and customized programming for early-stage entrepreneurs.[25] Startup companies can apply for Techstars' program and their viability is judged by the Managing Director of the program they applied to, as well as a screening committee composed of various members of the Techstars network.[26] In exchange for 6% common stock, each company accepted into Techstars currently receives $20,000 plus a $100,000 convertible note, access to the Techstars network for life, over $1M worth of perks (such as $25,000 to $100,000 in AWS credits), and a three-month accelerator program,[27] which is conducted in three phases: mentorship, growth, and investment.[28]
