TechStars, a startup incubator that offers mentorship along with a relatively modest amount of seed funding, has begun accepting applications for the third year of its program. Interested companies can apply here between January 19 and March 21, 2009, with winners selected by March 28. The TechStars team will select around ten companies to participate in the program, which takes place in Boulder, Colorado and culminates in a pair of Demo Days in Boulder and Mountain View, California during which each company will present their pitches to a room full of potential investors.
TechStars had a very successful 2008, during which a number of its companies were acquired: in August, lifestreaming startup SocialThing was acquired by AOL, followed a month later by Automattic’s acquisition of enhanced commenting system Intense Debate. A few of its companies have also been successful at raising money since the economic downturn, including artisan-food market Foodzie, which closed a round in December, and group dating site Ignighter, which raised $1.2 million in October.
Other startup incubators include DreamIt Ventures and the well-known Y Combinator program, which was founded in 2005 and now has funded well over 100 companies.
This business model could potentially be the direction many will take given the harsh economy AND the survival of the Web 2.0 fittest that seem to be this century’s reality.
thats amazing how many of these incubators are poping up one after another. its good though.
jess
http://www.yocial.com
We are excited to go into our third year.
Looking forward to seeing the newbies this year.
Perhaps they’ll also have some mature dudes like they did last year with Susan Mernit – that worked well…
I use to think this was the way to go, but in reality you can do it yourself, you don’t need VC’s or any small program to get you connections and take a % from you, do it yourself as long as possible and maybe you wont need capital and if you do, then go start knocking on doors yourself.
We actually take a very similar approach at our incubator here in Toronto that has been operating since May 09.
Have a look at our site if any are interested.
qwe
I’m in my early 30’s and am halfway done building my prototype for my startup. I had to part ways with my partner because he didn’t share the same passion that I have. Even though I’m not married with a family yet, I have a mortgage and a fulltime job that supports my girlfriend and I. I can’t just packup and move out to California or Colorodo to take part in what TechStar or YCombinator have to offer. It’s a shame too, because unlike a college graduate, I actually have 8 years of real-world experience and have a great idea that could blossom quicker with funding. What’s a guy like me to do?
I have a hard time believing that if you truly have great qualifications and a great idea, that you can’t raise the equivalent of what Techstars or YCombinator would give you in terms of dollars.
I mean this candidly and not insultingly – it sounds like you need a partner who can help figure the “business” side of things out for you.
I have a hard time believing you have actually done a startup full-time.
Stats show most entrepreneur launch companies in their 30’s. It is the media that fixates on following 18yrs olds with barely any talent.
You need to tap into the networks that are not covered by superficial media.
Leverage your lawyer, banker, and cash (by going to lots of events that have VCs milling around). You can also leverage your assets to borrow money to get to a break even point.
These days HELOCs are so freakin cheap — that if you have a good plan — leverage it (with very good discipline).
Otherwise ditch the mortgage. And maybe the GF. Seriously — you gotta make the sacrifice somewhere (and whats this having a GF in your 30’s in a house you own — too complicated for me).
The best case for you is that you can always get a regular job if all else fails. A young whipper snapper is screwed if he can’t get his little webby site up and running.
We had a blast building the new TechStars site and look forward to sponsoring them again this year! Bring on the applications!
I noticed a couple weeks ago the site looked pretty hot. No wonder, a Slice of Lime creation! Good work.
Very cool! Would be interesting to see which startups get picked this year.
It has been a fantastic two years. I’m really looking forward to this years applicants!
Love reading all the different responses and ideas. For any of those interested there is a networking event coming up where I would love to hear your ideas.
NetSavvy – Upscale IT Networking Event for IT Professionals ( http://tiny.cc/dMofU ) … keep up the ideas!
The techstars.org site is down!