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→Results and reception: removed unsubstantiated claim to be most prestigious. added statement that the company does provide data for analysis of the financial results of its startup stakes.
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*[[Graphic.ly]], a digital comic book platform, has 20 employees and has raised $4.2 million.<ref name=venturebeatgraphicly>Cheredar, Tom. [http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/05/graphicly-pulls-ipad-android-apps/ Graphicly shutters iOS & Android comic book apps to focus on self-publishing service]. ''Venture Beat''. April 5, 2012.</ref><ref name=denverpostgraphicly>Vuong, Andy. [http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14855746 Colorado startups becoming tech stars]. ''The Denver Post''. April 10, 2010.</ref>
*[[Graphic.ly]], a digital comic book platform, has 20 employees and has raised $4.2 million.<ref name=venturebeatgraphicly>Cheredar, Tom. [http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/05/graphicly-pulls-ipad-android-apps/ Graphicly shutters iOS & Android comic book apps to focus on self-publishing service]. ''Venture Beat''. April 5, 2012.</ref><ref name=denverpostgraphicly>Vuong, Andy. [http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14855746 Colorado startups becoming tech stars]. ''The Denver Post''. April 10, 2010.</ref>
*Sensobi, a personal relationship manager, was acquired by [[GroupMe]].<ref>Huang, Gregory T. [http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2011/05/05/sensobi-acquired-by-groupme-for-group-texting/ Sensobi Acquired by GroupMe for Group Texting]. May 5, 2011.</ref>
*Sensobi, a personal relationship manager, was acquired by [[GroupMe]].<ref>Huang, Gregory T. [http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2011/05/05/sensobi-acquired-by-groupme-for-group-texting/ Sensobi Acquired by GroupMe for Group Texting]. May 5, 2011.</ref>
*Brightkite, a real time social discovery network, sold to Limbo in 2009.
*Brightkite, a real time social discovery network, sold to Limbo in 2009, which closed in 2011.
*[[Bizible]], an online and offline marketing analytics company.<ref name=Geekwire>{{cite web|url=http://www.geekwire.com/2012/techstars-seattle-grad-bizible-lands-17m-deal-led-madrona/|title = TechStars grad Bizible lands $1.7M to help businesses measure whether ads work|publisher = Geekwire|accessdate = Sep 25, 2013}}</ref>
*[[Bizible]], an online and offline marketing analytics company.<ref name=Geekwire>{{cite web|url=http://www.geekwire.com/2012/techstars-seattle-grad-bizible-lands-17m-deal-led-madrona/|title = TechStars grad Bizible lands $1.7M to help businesses measure whether ads work|publisher = Geekwire|accessdate = Sep 25, 2013}}</ref>
*Filtrbox, a content monitoring service, sold to [[Jive Software]].
*Filtrbox, a content monitoring service, sold to [[Jive Software]].

Revision as of 14:02, 22 October 2013

TechStars, LLC
Company typeLLC
FoundedColorado, United States (2006, as TechStars, LLC.)
Headquarters
Boulder, Colorado
Key people
David Cohen (Co-founder and CEO)

Brad Feld (Co-founder)
David Brown (Co-founder)

Jared Polis (Co-founder)
Websitewww.techstars.com

TechStars is a mentorship-driven startup accelerator founded by David Cohen, Brad Feld, David Brown, and Jared Polis that holds 13 week programs for startups in Boulder, New York City, Boston, Seattle, San Antonio, Austin and London.[1][2] Fewer than 1% of the companies that apply to TechStars are accepted.[3] Of the 114 companies that have completed its program, 92% are active.[4] TechStars mentors include Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley, tumblr CEO David Karp, HubSpot co-founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah, and Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures.[5][6][7]

History

After founding three companies in Boulder, Colorado, David Cohen decided to form a startup accelerator and began building a network of mentors within Boulder. The network would simultaneously bring together potentially interesting companies, leverage the entrepreneurial community behind these companies for three months, and then decide whether to invest further. [8][9]

He enlisted Brad Feld, who had invested in some of the same companies as Cohen.[10][11] [3] They partnered with David Brown, co-founder and president of Zoll Data Systems, and Jared Polis, founder of BlueMountain and ProFlowers, to form TechStars.[10][12] They recruited 70 web entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and CEOs to provide mentoring.[13]

The company was established in Boulder in 2006 and held its first program in 2007 with an initial 10 companies.[14] Of the 10, 2 were acquired that same year, 3 achieved positive exits by 2012, and 2 currently generate millions in annual revenue.[13] TechStars used the revenue from these successful exits to expand to four additional cities: in 2009, in Boston; 2010, in Seattle; 2011, in New York City; 2012, a "cloud" program in San Antonio; 2013 in Austin.[4][15] [16] [17] David Tisch, founder and former managing director of the company’s New York branch, states that TechStars deliberately selected locations away from Silicon Valley because these areas had been relatively overlooked by other entrepreneurs. "[18]

In January 2011, the firm launched the Global Accelerator Network, which links 22 similar programs internationally.[19][20] The network was launched in conjunction with President Barack Obama’s Startup America Partnership.[21] In September 2011, thefirm was featured as the subject of a 7-episode reality TV series on Bloomberg TV.[22] The series follows 6 startups in their New York City program.[22][23]

Structure

Startups can apply for TechStars’ program and their viability is judged by the program’s directors.[24] Less than 1% of applicants are accepted into the program.[25] In particular, of the 1,500 applicants to the TechStars New York Spring 2012 program, 14 were selected.[26][27] TechStars provides each company with free office space and $18,000 in exchange for a 6% stake in the company.[14][28] In addition, a syndicate of more than 75 top venture capitalists backs each company with a $100,000 convertible note which converts into equity when the company raises a Series A.[29]

One of TechStars’ goals is to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystems in the 5 cities in which they operate.[30] There are between 50 and 100 mentors in each city for 10 to 15 companies.[30]

Boot Camp

Accepted founders participate in a three-month program in their program’s city.[31] While there, the founders develop their business under the guidance of mentors and meet with potential investors through TechStars’ network of connections.[24][31] Mentors for accepted startups include: Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley, tumblr CEO David Karp, HubSpot co-founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah, Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, and Howard Lindzon of StockTwits.[7][32]

Cohen refers to the TechStars boot camp as three one-month programs.[30] In the first month the founders engage the mentors and receive feedback on their product or service.[30] The goal of the first month is to orient the team in the correct direction, with Cohen stating that this is when many companies pivot their focus, market strategy, or idea.[30] In the second month, founders work with their mentors on specific issues like customer interaction, partner opportunities, and product development.[30] In the third month, founders develop a plan for action after TechStars, which includes fundraising, pitching investors, launching the product, or developing a company strategy.[30]

At the end of the 13-week program, TechStars hosts "Demo Day", which can draw over 500 investors, entrepreneurs, and journalists.[13]

Results and reception

The New York Times notes that “One of the biggest lures of the program is the unlimited access the start-ups get to established tech community mentors.”[33] Of the 114 companies that have graduated from the TechStars program, 98 are active, 8 have been acquired, and 8 have failed.[34] The success rate for most technology start-ups is estimated at 10%.[3] Companies that have participated in TechStars programs currently employ 772 people and 90% of those companies receive funding after graduating.[35][36] Techstars does not report financial results of its overall portfolio of companies, so, analysis of the financial results of Techstars's stake in its startups is anecdotal at best.

TechStars alumni

  • SendGrid, a cloud email infrastructure, has raised over $27 million in funding.[34][37]
  • Graphic.ly, a digital comic book platform, has 20 employees and has raised $4.2 million.[38][39]
  • Sensobi, a personal relationship manager, was acquired by GroupMe.[40]
  • Brightkite, a real time social discovery network, sold to Limbo in 2009, which closed in 2011.
  • Bizible, an online and offline marketing analytics company.[41]
  • Filtrbox, a content monitoring service, sold to Jive Software.
  • Socialthing, which organizes users’ social media, was bought by AOL.[42]
  • Occipital, a panoramic photo app, sold their technology to eBay.[43]
  • Simple Energy, an energy utility customer engagement platform has been deployed in over 500,000 homes.[44]
  • Next Big Sound, a music analytics provider, has raised $7.5 million in funding.[34][45]
  • OnSwipe, a tablet platform for publishing and advertising, was listed as one of Time magazine's 10 Best Startups.[46]
  • ShuttleCloud, specializing in cloud data migration, analysis, and storage products[47]
  • Lore, a social network for learning that has raised over $6 million in funding and been adopted at over 600 schools.[48]
  • Orbotix, focused on bringing a new concept of fun through robotics and phone-controlled open devices, raised over $11 million in funding. Their robotic ball Sphero is available in both the Apple Store and Brookstone.[49][50]
  • Flixmaster, who develops software to let users create interactive online video content, has partnered with NBCUniversal and Sony Creative Software and has raised more than $1.1 million.[51][46]
  • FullContact, who builds contact management software and APIs, has 28 employees and has raised more than $8 million in funding.[34][52]

References

  1. ^ Rusli, Evelyn. Heirs to Old Money Plunge into Tech. The New York Times. April 4, 2012.
  2. ^ Innovations & Ideas. The Denver Post. February 4, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c Chafkin, Max. Future TechStars, Step Forward. Inc.. April 2, 2012. Cite error: The named reference "incchafkin" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Results. TechStars.
  5. ^ Mentors. TechStars.
  6. ^ Bilton, Nick. TechStars Nurtures Start-Ups With Mentors. The New York Times. April 8, 2011.
  7. ^ a b Jeffries, Adrianne. Techstars NY More Selective than the Ivy League. The New York Observer. November 24, 2010.
  8. ^ Garland, David Siteman. How TechStars Founder David Cohen Turned A Passion For Technology Into An Incredible Career. The Rise to the Top.
  9. ^ Whipple, Tod. Interview with David Cohen-TechStars. Startup Addict. March 4, 2011.
  10. ^ a b Johnson, Kimberly. How TechStars was born. The Denver Post. May 20, 2007.
  11. ^ Bort, Julie. Boulder is Utopia for Startups. Business Insider. March 27, 2012.
  12. ^ Johnson, Kimberly. TechStars’ work pays in Boulder. The Denver Post. August 17, 2007.
  13. ^ a b c Bigelow, Bruce V. Lessons from TechStars’ David Cohen on Building a Startup Culture: 7 Takeaways from the Xconomy San Diego Dinner. Xconomy. February 3, 2012.
  14. ^ a b Myers, Courtney Boyd. TechStars: the next great incubator unleashes 11 startups in NYC. The Next Web. April 16, 2011.
  15. ^ Olanoff, Drew. These eleven companies relocated to San Antonio to join the first TechStars Cloud. The Next Web. April 11, 2012.
  16. ^ Thomas, Mike. TechStars Program to Jumpstart San Antonio’s Investment Community. The San Antonio Business Journal. April 4, 2012.
  17. ^ Dickinson, Boonsri. Microsoft Just Picked 11 Startups to Build Amazing Apps for Kinect. Business Insider. April 2, 2012.
  18. ^ Sloan, Paul. The startup accelerator boom...er bubble. CNET. March 27, 2012.
  19. ^ "TechStars network". TechStars.
  20. ^ Global Accelerator Network
  21. ^ Spencer, Malia. AlphaLab now part of TechStars Network. Pittsburgh Business Times. January 31, 2011.
  22. ^ a b Myers, Courtney Boyd. Tonight: TechStars’ Reality TV show debuts on Bloomberg. The Next Web. September 13, 2011.
  23. ^ Emerson, Rip. Startups On TV: TechStars Teams Up With Bloomberg To Offer An Inside Look At Building A Business. TechCrunch. August 2, 2011.
  24. ^ a b Popper, Ben. How the quiet Adam Rothenberg became number two at hot startup incubator TechStars NY. Venture Beat. March 12, 2012.
  25. ^ Maddalone, Joe. Would you rather get into Y Combinator, 500 Startups, TechStars or Harvard Business School? Forbes. March 28, 2012.
  26. ^ Weber, Harrison. Techstars Announces Its Latest Class of Startups. The Next Web. March 12, 2012.
  27. ^ Techstars NY announces inaugural class The New York Observer. January 12, 2011.
  28. ^ Kirsner, Scott. TechStars New Galaxy of Startups. The Boston Globe. March 28, 2011.
  29. ^ Gannes, Liz. Q&A: TechStars Founder David Cohen. September 16, 2010.
  30. ^ a b c d e f g Patterson, Irina and Candice Arnold. [1]. Sramana Mitra. March 7, 2011.
  31. ^ a b Fields, Jonathan. Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance. Portfolio Hardcover, 2011.
  32. ^ Brian, Matt (2011-05-06). "Howard Lindzon on why there's never been a better time to build a business [Video]". The Next Web. Retrieved 2013-05-19. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  33. ^ Stone, Helena. TechStars Makes Women The Startup Stars This Time Around. Chip Chick. March 13, 2012.
  34. ^ a b c d Results Results: TechStars.
  35. ^ Feld, Brad. The Acceleration of TechStars Business Insider. March 14, 2012.
  36. ^ David Cohen interview with Startupbootcamp. YouTube. November 23, 2009.
  37. ^ Dizik, Alina. 6 Time-Management Tips from Accelerator Programs. Fast Company. March 14, 2012.
  38. ^ Cheredar, Tom. Graphicly shutters iOS & Android comic book apps to focus on self-publishing service. Venture Beat. April 5, 2012.
  39. ^ Vuong, Andy. Colorado startups becoming tech stars. The Denver Post. April 10, 2010.
  40. ^ Huang, Gregory T. Sensobi Acquired by GroupMe for Group Texting. May 5, 2011.
  41. ^ "TechStars grad Bizible lands $1.7M to help businesses measure whether ads work". Geekwire. Retrieved Sep 25, 2013.
  42. ^ Reisinger, Don. AOL Acquires Lifestreaming Service Socialthing. Mashable. August 14, 2008.
  43. ^ . Occipital Upgrades Panoramic Photo App. Tech Rockies. March 26, 2012.
  44. ^ America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs 2012 Bloomberg BusinessWeek
  45. ^ Ruth, Joao-Pierre. Xconomis of the Week. Xconomy. April 12, 2012.
  46. ^ a b Baptiste, Jason. Fundraising: From $1,000 To $1,000,000. April 8th, 2012. Cite error: The named reference "techcrunch" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  47. ^ "ShuttleCloud". CrunchBase. May 31, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  48. ^ http://pandodaily.com/2012/04/23/coursekit-is-now-lore-rebrand-reflects-expansion-beyond-college-courses-with-new-investment-from-peter-thiel/
  49. ^ [2]. Crunchbase
  50. ^ . Orbotix Sphero is Rolling to an Apple Store Near You. Techcrunch. June 29, 2012.
  51. ^ Heim, Anna. FlixMaster partners with Sony Creative Software to bring interactive videos tools to a broader audience. "The Next Web". Nobember 14, 2012.
  52. ^ Feld, Brad. One Address Book to Rule Them All. "Feld Thoughts". July 13, 2012.
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