Category: Techstars

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

Nicole GlarosLeave a comment

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!

Techstars Boulder 2014 Schedule

Nicole Glaros10 Comments

And the Techstars Boulder 2014 schedule is out!

The first thing you’ll notice is the dates are very different than normal.  Historically we start in May and end in August, but this year I’ll be in NYC helping our new MD there, Alex Iskold, until June.  So Boulder will start a little later, and end a little later.  Good news is if you come to Boulder early, you can still enjoy some of our fabulous summer before hunkering down for the most amazing/productive/insane/connected/challenging/accelerating experience of your life.

Applications Open: March 17th
Early Application Deadline: April 13th
Final Deadline: May 4th
Program Starts: July 15th
Program Ends: October 10th

Also, I’m doing 15 min open office hours for teams interested in learning more.  Sign yourself up here!

 

Alex Iskold joins Techstars in NYC

Nicole Glaros2 Comments

I’ve spent the last year working hard (read *blood, sweat and tears*) on Techstars in NYC as Managing Director, and I’ve set in motion a lot of changes to help radically improve our program and ecosystem there.  This includes radical changes to how we run our mentorship program, how we engage with the larger community, things we can do to help the community as a whole bond and gel towards the single goal of making the entrepreneurial community in NYC the best in the world… and others.

But one of my challenges, since Day 1, is that I don’t permanently reside in NYC.  We knew since I joined that my time was temporary, as I have 2 small children and run the Techstars program in Boulder.  I’ve been commuting almost weekly since I joined, and furthermore moved my family out there for 3 months during the last program.

Well today, one of the best changes we’ve made is hiring Alex Iskold, former CEO of GetGlue to join me in NYC.  I’ll be there through the next program again, helping make sure that Alex doesn’t make all the silly mistakes I made my first time through (we are a mentorship driven program after all).  I’ll still be involved during the next 6 months, and will be moving to NYC again for the next program, but I’m transitioning the day to day and long term care and feeding to Alex.

Alex is amazing, he’s been rated one of our top mentors in NYC, he has an insatiable appetite for making this awesome.  I couldn’t be happier to work alongside him and am thrilled at the potential for the future in NYC.

 

Entrepreneurs building connected hardware

Nicole GlarosLeave a comment

Entrepreneurs!  If’ you’re working on hardware, internet of things, and connected devices – you should be aware of a date that’s fast approaching.

October 11th is the last day to apply for the R/GA Accelerator, powered by Techstars.  The 3 month program is focused on connected devices and is based in NYC.  As is standard with all Techstars programs, you’ll have access to the leading mentors from NYC, Techstars, Makers, Marketers, major brands, any people who are experts in all things connected devices.  The 10 best companies will get:

  • Up to $120,000 in funding
  • Co-location space provided by R/GA in New York
  • Design and development support from experienced R/GA designers and developers who’ve built connected devices and services.
  • Mentor sessions with industry leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, and influencers
  • Access to prototyping equipment, including Makerbot printers
  • Invite-only launch presentation event in Austin, TX at SxSWi 2014
  • Demo Day presentation to angel investors, select R/GA clients, and media in New York

It’s perfect for teams still ideating, have a working prototype, or up to about $2M in revenue or funding.

Get all the details at http://www.RGAAccelerator.com.

OR just follow along on TW with @RGAaccelerator