I know it can be counter-intuitive, but just because an investor says “No,” it doesn’t mean they don’t love what you’re doing. Keep in mind that as venture capitalists, our job is to say “No” 99+ percent of the time! That means we often say “No” to things we love and founders we love. Even when we …
Everyone who knows Katie Rae at Techstars is thrilled that she’s taken a lead role with The Engine at MIT, a new venture fund and incubator space there. Katie was the Managing Director at Techstars for our Boston program from 2010 to 2014. She epitomizes “give first” and cares deeply about the founders she works with …
The Alexa Accelerator, powered by Techstars, is a new program designed to support early-stage companies advancing the state-of-the-art in voice-powered technologies, interfaces and applications. Created in partnership with Amazon’s Alexa Fund, the program will focus on Alexa domains such as connected home and car, wearables and hearables, communication devices and more. Participants will receive an investment …
I receive lots of pitches, and one of the things I notice is that sometimes these pitches are very clear on pricing. Entrepreneurs will name the pre-money or post-money valuation, and sometimes they even lead with the pricing. I think that’s a mistake, because if you don’t appeal to the investor on a pricing basis, it gives them an immediate reason …
The Techstars 2016 Global Impact Report was released on February 7. This report is a showcase of what Techstars has accomplished in 2016 and over the past 10 years, as well as a thank you to all the people who have contributed to the success of entrepreneurs around the world. It’s been an amazing 10 years, to say the least. We …
Recently Steve Wulchin (who has also been an investor in our funds at Techstars since the beginning) was asked by two of his nieces to talk to them about leadership. As part of his preparation for the session, Steve polled a number of people that are in leadership positions, including me. These are people that …