Over 40 of the United States’ most prominent venture capitalists, “serial entrepreneurs”, and business leaders are lining up to serve as mentors to ten business start-up teams. Ten will be chosen in early April for the TechStars entrepreneur program.
About 300 new company founders are vying for the chance to get their business plans off the ground, get advice from the best and brightest, and pitch their ideas to investors during the summer in national start-up hub Boulder, Colorado.
The ten companies selected will each be granted up to $15,000 in seed capital, and will have access to operational, legal, marketing and product development assistance from a wide variety of industry experts:
* Brad Feld, Foundry Group
* Jared Polis, The Jared Polis Foundation
* David Cohen, TechStars
* David Brown, ZOLL Data Systems
* Kimbal Musk, Me.dium
* Alex King, FeedLounge
* Mark Sawyer, Borealis Ventures
* Chris Scoggins, Sequel Venture Partners
* Jason Mendelson, Foundry Group
* Greg Reinacker, Newsgator
* Todd Vernon, Lijit.com, Raindance
* Terry Gold, Gold Systems
* Gary Held, CTEK
* Paul Jerde, The Deming Center
* Frank Moyes, University of Colorado
* Andrew Currie, Email Publishing, Cyberspace Developments
* Brad Schell, Sketchup
* Brian Makare, Email Publishing, MessageMedia
* Michael Platt, Cooley Godwad Kronish
* Paul Berberian, Raindance
* Darren Crystal, Photobucket.com
* Wendy Lea, Newmerix, Siebel Consulting
* Niel Robertson, Newmerix
* Rajat Bhargava, Still Secure
* Jim Lejeal, Oxlo Systems
* Sue Kunz, Solidware Technologies
* Ryan Martens, Rally Software Development
* Tim Miller, Rally Software Development
* Seth Levine, Foundry Group
* Don Loeb, FeedBurner
* Lisa Rutherford, Vista Ventures
Sponsors and supporters include CTEK Angels, Cooley Godward Kronish, ViaWest, Metzger Associates, the University of Colorado and Denver University.
TechStars fills huge holes in the traditional hi-tech startup model.
Seed funding. TechStars fills the startup funding gap by providing just enough capital to get your idea off the ground in exchange for 5% of the initial equity in your company.
Advice and Mentoring. TechStars fills the experience gap by bringing together the best and the brightest in one place and surrounding you with incredible proven mentors for the summer. With this much talent in one place you’ll get great advice on your product and strategy, thereby ensuring the best possible start for your new business.
Connections. TechStars companies get immeasurable benefits that come from introductions and connections to potential partners and customers. At the end of the summer, each company also has the opportunity to pitch during an investor event that we organize.
Only ten spots are available. TechStars takes only ten companies each summer.
How much funding do TechStars companies receive?
You get $5,000 per founder, up to 3 founders. So at most, you’ll get $15,000 for the summer. We think that this is plenty of money to survive for the summer and to crank out a substantial prototype so you can get to the next level. You also get a free server, hosting, legal services, and more. Finally, there is immeasurable value in the connections and advice that you’ll receive when you start your company with TechStars, and also in the opportunity to pitch to angel investors and venture capitalists at the end of the summer.
For more information, visit www.techstars.org.