Tag: Techstars

Techstars Boulder & welcoming Shay

Nicole GlarosLeave a comment

I’m sitting in Avanti, adjacent to the Boulder Theater, hiding in a back corner because I can’t seem to get a quiet, undisturbed spot to write this post. Downtown Boulder is filled with Techstars people here for Foundercon: alumni, executives, staff, mentors, and previous managing directors. I can’t walk 5 feet without seeing someone I haven’t seen in years. On Monday, over 30 ex-Managing Directors, unofficially called Techstars Mafia but officially called the Techstars MD Emeritus, gathered to share tips and help each other grow our funds (most of us run funds now, with a few operators and 2 bankers). It feels like déjà vu. With David Cohen back as CEO, hopeful, cautious optimism is the shared sentiment, with a sprinkling of other complex emotions for this org that we all loved. Love. 

At the center of the optimism for me is the relaunch of the Techstars program in Boulder I’m thrilled to share that we’ve found that leader: Shay Har-Noy is joining as Managing Partner of Techstars Boulder.

Shay (pronounced shy, but he’s definitely not shy) has raised capital, built teams from scratch, scaled products to millions of users, and experienced both the highs and lows of startup life. As Managing Partner of Techstars Boulder, he’s focused on helping founders navigate those same challenges — from finding product–market fit to building resilient teams to scaling without losing their edge. He brings both deep operating experience and strong ties across the startup ecosystem, here in Colorado and globally.

Most importantly, Shay is deeply aligned with our mission to keep Techstars rooted in this community while evolving it for what founders need today. He believes, as we do, that when incentives are aligned locally, we can spin the flywheel of growth and opportunity for the next generation of Colorado startups.

You will see a lot of Shay in the coming weeks, months, and years. Please help me welcome him to the role. Wrap your arms around him. Ask him “how can I help” and support him as he works to build an accelerator and community that reflects the best of Colorado’s startup spirit.  

This is just the beginning, and we’ll have more to share soon. In the meantime, if you’re interested in getting involved as a mentor, investor, sponsor, or member of our future space, sign up here.

Exciting News for the Colorado Startup Ecosystem

Nicole Glaros9 Comments

Back in March, I wrote about the departure of Techstars Boulder, and on the back of the Foundry announcement, it became clear that we, as the Colorado startup community, needed to evolve and step up. For those of us who have been around a while, we remember what it was like in the early days – we knew how magical it was. People, whether representing themselves or representing different entities, got together to help the founders succeed. From mentors to law firms to CU to individuals to investors, we all participated.  We were small then and could fit into one room (hello Wolf Law!), everyone knew everyone else, and we often hung out socially and had a ton of fun together. But we all had one thing in common, we wanted to help startups succeed and believed that a rising tide raises all ships. 

But today isn’t like it was back then. Colorado is different. We are different. Those of us OGs are older now, there are awesome new people here, the startup ecosystem is bigger, and it needs to change and evolve. We, as a startup community, need to keep what made it magical but evolve to accommodate different times, markets, and talents.

Well, we’ve been working on just that. In part of a broader plan, I’m pleased to share that I, along with Natty Zola, David Cohen, and support from others along the way (you know who you are) have worked to launch a Techstars accelerator program experiment here in Colorado, leveraging what we know works, and trying to evolve some things that didn’t work.  For example, this instance of Techstars will be locally owned, governed, and operated while still having access to the global Techstars resources.  While Techstars will be an anchor investor, and David will sit on the board alongside me and Natty, the vast majority of the capital will be from the local ecosystem, governed by a local board of directors that Techstars influences but doesn’t control, with a staff that reports to this local entity. This allows the economic incentives to be fully aligned, to keep the returns and control here in Colorado, for Techstars to support the success of the local activity, and for the local program to take advantage of all that Techstars has built over the years. The accelerator has and can generate phenomenal outcomes when incentives are aligned, because when the returns are kept locally, it spins the flywheel of growing future companies here.  Techstars got a lot right in the early days, and we plan to capitalize on that here, as the first community with this arrangement called Techstars Colorado, a startup community partnership.

But it doesn’t stop there, because Techstars was never the community, it was just a part of the community.  In response to a ton of feedback that we need a place to gather, we are working to secure a building to be a nexus for this next generation of startups. Assuming we are successful (and are getting closer by the day!), it will house not only Techstars Colorado, but other venture funds, startups, founders, mentors, and organizations committed to helping startups succeed. We have big plans for support and resources for startups, not just at the pre-seed and seed stage, but well into the growth stages. Our goal isn’t to be the community here either, but rather to be an anchor in it, designed to live well beyond us and our influence, and to reunite the ecosystem so that we can raise the tide again here in Colorado.

It’s still early days, these things don’t happen overnight, and we will need the community (that’s you!) to step up to make this happen – which in today’s market isn’t an easy undertaking. But we have most of the key stakeholders committed and we anticipate launching sometime in 2025.

If you’re interested in getting involved, here’s what we are looking for!

  • Hire a Managing Partner to run Techstars Colorado (correct, I’m not running it). If you or someone you know has been a founder CEO or CTO of at least 1, ideally 2 venture-backed startups and are interested in investing, please click here for more information and to apply.
  • If you’d like to learn more about the following items, please fill out this form:
    • Becoming a Techstars mentor
    • Sponsorship
    • Office space or membership for a dedicated space for startups (likely in Boulder)
    • Investing in startups
    • Just would like to stay ‘in the know’

I’m excited to play a key part in uniting the startup community and helping Colorado take a key step forward in our own evolution. I’d love it if you joined us!

A reinvention of Techstars

Nicole Glaros2 Comments

For the past 48 hours, I’ve been fielding texts, calls, emails, and mentions, non-stop, due to the post from Techstars about Techstars 2.0, the closing of the Boulder accelerator program and others in key cities, and the shifting of the HQ to NYC from Boulder.

Techstars has been slowly changing and adapting over the years, and yes of course some of that makes me sad. Many of the best moments of my career and life were in the magical early years there. Techstars has been such a gift, not just to me, but to all the early communities.  

We all bonded not just over the mission of the company, but over its values.  We lived, ate, and breathed the values of the company – and what made Techstars so remarkable was we believed we could not only create shareholder value, but instill VALUES alongside it.  Everyone close to the company, alumni and employees alike, they still carry those values and work to uphold them personally. And it’s why I believe the reaction to the news has been so strong!

But Techstars needs to evolve, it needs to iterate, it needs to reinvent itself because what works on a local community level is very difficult, dare I say impossible, to pull off on a global scale.  The values haven’t changed, but how they execute them has to.

I say this as I think about my daughter who is turning 14 shortly, and is one of the reasons I left Techstars back in 2022; I wanted to spend more time with her before she leaves for college. When she leaves, I will be indescribably sad, unbelievably nostalgic, but also incredibly proud of her as I watch her reinvent herself, as I watch her evolve and grow. She’s going to leave ‘home’ in search of her next chapter, but her roots will always remain here in Boulder, here with me.  And when she leaves, it’s then time for me and my husband to reinvent ourselves too.  For everything, there is a season.

So go Techstars, go reinvent yourself, go create the 2.0 version that kicks the 1.0 version’s ass.  Thank you for all you’ve given us, for showing us what’s possible, and for paving the way.  Please keep spreading those values far and wide, and remember always where you came from.

And for all the communities that feel vacant now – it’s a chance for us to reinvent ourselves too. We can reignite that entrepreneurial spirit that’s true to our communities and not in service of anything else.  We’re already working on it in Boulder.  

Free Event Series: Today! – Keys to VCs with Mark Solon

Nicole GlarosLeave a comment

After twenty years of investing in startups, Mark Solon has worked with hundreds if not thousands of venture capitalists.  He knows how what they’re looking for, how to work with them, and what will set you apart in a crowded field of entrepreneurs.  Mark has the tactical advice that founders need when they start the challenging process of raising money.

RSVP for Mark’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 for until March 15th,  that’s less than two weeks!  

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

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.

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!

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

This week’s TechStars application tip: The Team

Nicole Glaros8 Comments

Happy 2013!

This week’s application tip comes near and dear to my heart.  The Team.

We put a heavy emphasis on team.  In fact, we like to say that we look for 5 things in an application:

  1. Team
  2. Team
  3. Team
  4. Market
  5. Idea

So, spend some time crafting an AMAZING team section.  I’m looking for telltale signs that you’re passionate about what you’re doing, you and your co-founders are capable of weathering storms together, and you have a demonstrable ability to execute.  (either on this idea, or on past projects).  I’m also looking for roles in the company, so I can see who does what and where the holes are.

Here is a checklist of stuff you can include to highlight how awesome your bad-ass self is:

  • Your full name, role in the company, and links to linked-in, twitter, and github.  If you’re a coder and you’re not on Github, WTF?
  • Highlight why you’re working on this company.  What was the inspiration?  Keep it short!
  • How you met your cofounders.  Keep it short!
  • Highlight any accomplishments in the past.  Successful exit?  Say so!  Won the chess championship in high school?  Awesome!  Tell me!  Big failure?  Awesome, tell me (huge learning here).  Started coding when you were 6?  Cool!  This can be in bulletpoint format (read, I prefer bulletpoints!).  I’m just trying to get a sense of who you are and what you’re capable of doing.  Totally cool if you have a lot of bulletpoints.  If you don’t have a lot of bulletpoints, then I can’t really get to know you and might even erroneously make the assumption that you haven’t done anything with your life yet.

“But Nicole!”, you might ask.  “What if I’m a single founder?”  Single founders are a very rare breed in the TechStars eco-system.  We have funded single founders in the past, but it’s really tough on them in the program.  The program moves 1000MPH and its often too much for even 2 people to manage, much less 1.  BUT, we have funded single founders in the past that an execute like a madman (or madwoman).  So just talk to me about your history, show me you can build stuff, fast, and I’m interested.

Also – use the team video!  Keep it short, like to < 1 minute.  Just sit yourselves down in front of your webcam or smartphone, and shoot.  No need for production quality.  But please, show me some personality.  Sing, dance, beatbox, be creative… Just standing there and telling me what you’ve done in the past isn’t the most fun way to pass the time (especially when I’m on application #782).

For those astute readers, you’ll notice how many times I’ve alluded to brevity.  Efficiency of words and video goes a long way for me.  The shorter it is, the more likely I am to read the whole thing instead of just scanning it.

Early application deadline (to qualify for TechStars for a Day in NYC) is Jan 4th, that’s in just 2 days!  Don’t procrastinate and apply now.

 

Need a co-founder?

Nicole GlarosLeave a comment

The 2nd most frequently asked question I get at TechStars is:  I have a great idea but I really need a co-founder.  Know where I can find one?

Finding a co-founder is like finding a spouse, and your relationship with your co-founder will likely be as complex as the one with your significant other.

Enter Founder Dating, a little event we’re holding in Boulder on Feb 9th.  It’s a place where you can meet other individuals looking to start a company with a co-founder.

You need to register in advance, so RSVP here.  

See you there!

Community Office Hours – get ’em while they’re hot

Nicole Glaros1 Comment

I get tons of meeting requests for individuals looking to pitch their business idea, or introduce themselves, maybe they’re new to town, or looking for a job.  I love meeting with people, and to make sure I can continue to accommodate the growing number of requests, I’ve set up community office hours.

If you want to meet with me for whatever reason, sign yourself up here. Looking forward to meeting you!