Category: Techstars

Free Event Series: Feb 2nd – Finding Funding with David Cohen

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David Cohen is at the heart of funding technology startups.  Since 2007 when he founded Techstars, he’s coached hundreds of early stage companies on finding funding, and he just helped raise a $150M fund to keep investing for years to come.  There are some practical, easy-to-implement techniques to help you, the entrepreneur, close your round, and David is here to share them Tuesday, 2/2 @4:30pm.

RSVP for David’s talk, and check out our free event series we call 8 Weeks of Awesome.  Each week we have a speaker or an event designed to help entrepreneurs tackle the hardest problems they face.  It’s a taste of the kind of mentorship and guidance companies get as Techstars participants.  Applications for Techstars Boulder are open until March 15th, but it’s better to apply early!  

We hope to see you and your Techstars application soon!  Whether you can join us or not, you can apply HERE.

Techstars raises $150M Venture Fund

Nicole Glaros4 Comments

Earlier today Techstars announced that we closed a $150M venture fund.  It serves primarily as a co-investor for the Techstars portfolio, our alumni, and our mentors’ startups.  It’s a new resource for the Techstars ecosystem, injecting additional capital to great companies.

This announcement is exciting for me personally because I’ve been named a Partner in that fund.  I’ve been with Techstars since 2009 and have run 8 programs with over 90 companies in my portfolio.  From Boulder to NYC to Cloud in Texas, it’s been a great journey with amazing entrepreneurs who have educated and inspired me every step. Techstars has been a labor of love and I feel grateful daily for the faith and belief that Techstars continues to place in me.  People like David Cohen, Jason Mendelson, Brad Feld, Seth Levine, Ryan McIntyre, Mark Solon have taken chances on me, supported me, and believed in me every step.  For that I am eternally grateful to be given this opportunity, and all those leading up to this.

Now I can take all that I’ve learned to the next level.  I get to work more closely with entrepreneurs, deploy more capital resources to them, and do it alongside some of my favorite people: Mark Solon, David Cohen, Ari Newman, and Jason Seats.  I’m thrilled to be able to put that same love, support, and belief into great entrepreneurs.

Wish me luck as I embark on this new journey!

 

Free Event Series: Jan 27th – How (NOT?) to Screw Up Your Company with Jason Mendelson

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As a venture capitalist with Foundry Group and a Techstars mentor,  Jason Mendelson has seen lots of companies screw up.  He wants to help you avoid making the same mistakes that can kill your company!   He’s giving one of our favorite Techstars talks on Tuesday January 27th, highly valuable for entrepreneurs looking to sidestep those quagmires you might not see coming.

 

This is the second event in a series of talks we’re calling 8 Weeks of Awesome, full of advice and ideas for tackling the hardest problems entrepreneurs face (building a team, selling a product, finding funding, and more.)  We’ll also be on hand to answer questions about applying to Techstars.  Applications for Techstars Boulder close on March 15th (but it’s helpful to apply early!)

 RSVP here!

 

About Jason: he has over 15 years of experience in the venture capital and technology industries in a multitude of investing, operational and engineering roles. Prior to co-founding Foundry Group, Jason was a Managing Director and General Counsel for Mobius Venture Capital, where he also acted as its chief administrative partner overseeing all operations of the firm.

Free Event Series: Jan 20th – Howard Diamond and the Art of Selling

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Howard Diamond is the CEO of MobileDay, and a beloved Techstars mentor.  He’s coming to Techstars on January 20th to talk with entrepreneurs about the Art of Selling!  This is a favorite talk at Techstars, and you don’t want to miss it.  This is the first event in what we call 8 Weeks of Awesome– each Tuesday at 4:30 we host an event to help entrepreneurs tackle the toughest challenges (marketing, finding a co-founder, finding funding, etc.)   We’re also around to answer questions about applying to Techstars.  Applications for Boulder close on March 15th, but earlier is better!

RSVP here!

About Howard: he has a long history of building companies. He took a startup, Course Technology, from 0 to $75 Million in five years. He built Corporate Software, the largest software reseller for Microsoft and IBM, from $500 Million in revenue to $1.2 Billion in six years. He was subsequently Chairman of the Information Services Group at Level3, where he ran a $2.7 Billion technology group and orchestrated the largest merger ever in the software reseller business. Now, Howard has come out of retirement to be the CEO of MobileDay where he intends to make MobileDay his biggest success yet.

Techstars Boulder applications are now open!

Nicole GlarosLeave a comment

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.

Free Event Series at Techstars: 8 weeks of awesome events for Techstars Boulder

Nicole Glaros3 Comments

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!

Techstars Boulder 2014 ALS Icebucket Challenge to Techstars Austin

Nicole Glaros2 Comments

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

Process for Techstars applications

Nicole Glaros3 Comments

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!

 

 

7 weeks of awesome events for Techstars Boulder

Nicole Glaros2 Comments

Techstars Boulder applications opened up yesterday, and to celebrate, we’re hosting 7 weeks of great events designed to help entrepreneurs kick @ss.  All events are free and open to the public, but space is limited so RSVP today!

Here’s the 7 Weeks of Awesome (#7weeksofawesome!) Schedule:

Monday 3/24 @ 4:30 – 10 things that will screw up your startup – by Jason Mendelson.

Monday 3/31 @ 4:30 – You have a startup, but do you have a business?  By Nate & Natty, founders of Everlater (aquired by AOL).

Monday 4/7 @ 4:30 – Growth Hacking, Digital Ocean style – by Mitch Wainer, co-founder of Digital Ocean

Monday 4/14 @ 4:30 – Techstars Open House!  Come meet me, mentors, and alumni of Techstars and find out why it’s a great program for you.

Monday 4/21 @ 4:30 – Fundraising awesomeness – with David Cohen, founder of Techstars

Monday 4/28 @ 4:30 – Building an awesome enterprise sales machine – by Howard Diamond

The Week of 5/13 – It’s Boulder Startup Week – stay tuned for great events from us

And if you haven’t done so already, apply today for Techstars!