I’m well rested after a long sabbatical and ready to tackle 2015! And no way to bring in the new year by opening applications for Techstars in Boulder.
So if you’re interested in applying to Techstars in Boulder – here are some important dates you need to know:
Jan 5th – Applications open. Apply now!
March 15th – Application Deadline
June 15th – Program Starts
Sept 11th – Program Ends
I’m excited to see what the new year brings.
Applications for Techstars in Boulder are open, and to celebrate, we’re hosting a cadre of events that are valuable and full of tactics for your startup. We love helping entrepreneurs, so it’s free and open to the public. Last year, we called it 7 Weeks of Awesome, and we got such a positive response, we decided to do it again, but more awesome! This year, it’s 8 Weeks of Awesome, every Tuesday for 8 weeks @ Techstars in Boulder. Please RSVP below.
Here is the 8 Weeks of Awesome Schedule:
Tuesday 1/20 @ 4:30 – The Art of Selling with Howard Diamond
Tuesday 1/27 @ 4:30 – 20 Ways to Screw Up Your Company with Jason Mendelson
Tuesday 2/3 @ 4:30 – Finding Funding with David Cohen
Tuesday 2/10 @ 4:30 – Techstars Open House!!!!!
Tuesday 2/17 @ 4:30 – Building Company Culture with Dr. Natalie Baumgartner
Tuesday 2/24 @ 4:30 – CoFounder Dating with Techstars and CoFounders Lab
Tuesday 3/3 @ 4:30 – The Keys to VCs with Mark Solon
Tuesday 3/10 @ 4:30 – How to Pitch, with Nicole Glaros (also a CU New Venture Challenge workshop)
Applications for Techstars Boulder open January 5th and final deadline is March 15th! Why should you apply early? If you haven’t done so already, apply today for Techstars!
Just for the readers of my blog – if you want to attend Techstars Boulder Demo Day tomorrow (Oct 9th), please RSVP here. I’ve opened up just a small handful of tickets (25 actually) just to say thanks for reading here.
Hope you’ll join us!
Forget those business conferences with long speeches and boring panel discussions. On Nov 18 (new date!), Boulder’s most innovative businesses will open their doors to the public to celebrate Boulder companies who drive the networked economy. NewCo Boulder is a city-wide event that takes you right into the corporate offices of 35 of the most innovative and successful companies around Boulder, offering attendees a tour rather than a company description packet.
At NewCo, attendees will sign up for a free pass to visit any of the participating organizations, from software companies, to restaurants, to non-profits and more. During the event attendees will check out the offices of the some of the most interesting and inventive companies around the city and take part in an interactive presentation about what each organization is doing to make an impact on the global landscape.
I am proud to serve on the Board of Advisors along side Kimbal Musk, Jane Miller, Brad Feld, Seth Levine, Larry Gold, Walter Knapp, and Sean Maher. Boulder’s NewCo team, Rich Maloy and Tim O’Shea, have pulled together an impressive group of organizations across a wide range of industries in the community.
It’s an opportunity to see what Boulder businesses are doing and where it actually takes place: offices, breweries, bakeries etc. Attendees can learn from their strategies and executions, gain some insights from their successes, maybe even drop off a business card or resume. The event is open to everyone and it’s free for the Boulder community.
For more information on NewCo Boulder including the companies participating, please visit: http://bdr.newco.co
Have questions about NewCo Boulder 2014? Contact Rich Maloy, Engage Colorado: rich@engagecolorado.com
Dear Techstars Austin Class of 2014. Consider yourselves challenged. That means you have 24 hours to either meet the challenge, or donate to ALS. In fact, you should just donate anyway. Jason Seats, Brewbot, Burpy, Cloud66, Common Form, Experiment Engine, Fashion Metric, Free Textbooks , LawnStarter, NMRKT, Pivot Freight, & Smart Host!
With Love,
Techstars Boulder 2014
I’m often getting emails from people who are either new to Boulder, or just want to connect deeper with the Boulder tech scene. In an effort to bring everyone closer together, we’re launching a Welcome To Boulder event series. It’s only 30 minutes long, just long enough to have a quick drink, but you’ll be hosted by some of Boulder’s most connected individuals in tech, including myself, Seth Levine, David Cohen, Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson, Brad Berenthal, Robert Reich, Dan Caruso and others. There will always be at least one of us there to answer your questions, introduce you to others, and point you towards great local resources. And you can meet other like-minded people who are also launching their exploration into Boulder. We want to be your welcoming committee!
If you’re interested in getting more connected to the Boulder tech scene, this is a great jumping off point. Below is a list of upcoming events:
Monday, August 25th, 2014: 5-5:30pm – RSVP here (yes! That’s next monday!)
Monday, Nov 17th 2014, 5-5:30pm – RSVP here
Monday, February 16th 2015, 5-5:30 pm – RSVP here
Monday, May 18 2015, 5-5:30pm – RSVP here
Huge shout out to Julie Penner who’s spearheading the organization of this. If you don’t know Julie, you should.
Also, if you’re new to the scene, check out the Hitchhiker’s Guide to Boulder’s Startup Community. It’s a great resource.
One of the best lean processes for startups I’ve used is Ash Maurya’s Running Lean. It’s wonderful in how tactical and practical it is, and I’m excited to announce that he’s personally coming to Boulder on Aug 27-28 to run a 2 day workshop on the method.
I couldn’t recommend the workshop enough, in fact, I think it’s so important, that I’m thrilled to give you a 30% discount if you attend. Enter code TECHSTARS. Sign up today, it will sell out! (And thanks to my friends @Galvanize for hosting!)
I’ve been watching CU’s entrepreneurship ecosystem really evolve over the last 5 or 7 years. It’s a grassroots efforts, led in part by the students, and in part by passionate faculty within CU. For instance, Brad Berenthal’s efforts over at Silicon Flatirons have become a staple in the entrepreneurship community. The Spark Boulder co-working space is thriving with young student entrepreneurs. And the New Venture Challenge is producing some great companies, including many who made it to the final rounds of Techstars. In fact, Varsity, one of the winners, has recently been accepted to Techstars (expect a blog post on that one!)
If you’re going to be in Boulder at the end of July, and want to catch a glimpse of the fun stuff happening at CU, you’re in luck. Catalyze CU is throwing their first-ever Demo Day on July 31st from 6-8pm. Make sure to check out the companies, and get your tickets before they’re gone! And keep your eye on CU – the entrepreneurial groundswell is picking up some serious steam.
Angel investors in CO who invest in tech (and a few other growth industries) might be able to get a tax credit for their investment.
You have to apply for the tax credit within 90 days of making the investment, there are only $375K worth of tax credits for this year, and I believe they evaluate on a first-come-first served-basis. I love that CO is trying to encourage more angel investing here.
Now that applications to Techstars in Boulder have closed, I’m getting a lot of email inquiries around what happens next. I tend to not publish this information simply because each year we do it a little differently, we’re always iterating on the process to make it less painful for entrepreneurs and reduce errors and missed opportunities on our side. But, in the spirit of full transparency this year, let me outline how we’re processing applications in Boulder for 2014.
By no later than 5/19, we’ll be doing a first cut of teams. Teams not cut will be invited to pitch a screening committee early next week, 5/19, 5/20, and possibly 5/21. Those will consist of 5 minute pitches, followed by 5 min Q&A. There will be approximately 50-60 companies who are invited to that screening committee. That screening committee helps narrow it down to about 25 companies, and from there, myself along with a very short list of my own mentors help me select the final class.
So hang tight teams, you should hear from us soon whether you move on to the next round (screening committee) or not.
Best of luck!
Nearly Nicole 