Thoughts from a geeky ex-hacker turned investor and founder of Techstars.
When Amir Hegazi and I first started talking about writing a book together, we kept coming back to one central puzzle. Over the last two decades at Techstars, I’ve had the privilege of working with more than 5,000 startup teams. Across thousands of pitch decks, late-night mentoring sessions, and board meetings, you start to spot Continue Reading The post Why Some Startups Hit $1B (And Why Most…
Have you heard the news? We re planning to bring the Techstars accelerator back to Boulder in 2025! Huge thanks to Nicole Glaros and Natty Zola for making it happen! We are excited to be partnering with the Colorado startup community to make it happen! For more info, check out Nicole s post, and then give Natty s a Continue Reading The post Techstars Colorado, a startup community partnership…
Last week, I announced that I have returned the the CEO seat at Techstars. It s a unique situation, because I ve led or co-led Techstars for 13 of the 17 years it has existed and have been Chairman for the last several years. Since the announcement, I ve consistently been asked three questions so I thought I d Continue Reading The post My return to CEO at Techstars appeared first on Hi, I m David…
Recently, this post about our evolution came out from Techstars. Of course, as Chairman, I know of, and strongly support, the strategic changes that are happening at Techstars. We are strengthening our ability to invest in more startups and their founders than any other company in the world. And helping founders be successful has always Continue Reading The post Techstars is evolving and growing…
I had been wanting to take Rollie on my customary volunteering trip with Globe Aware for a few years, but the pandemic got in the way. We finally got it done in February, 2024. Long time readers may remember when I did similar trips (China with Andrew, then Costa Rica with Delaney) with my older Continue Reading The post Volunteering in Guatemala appeared first on Hi, I m David G. Cohen .
Brad Feld and I started the Give First podcast in May of 2019. We re approaching our 80th episode, and we ve had some awesome guests and great insights for startups. In case you re new to the podcast or missed a few episodes, here are a few playlists on Spotify based on different themes that you may Continue Reading The post The Give First podcast playlists appeared first on Hi, I m David G. Cohen…
Eight years ago, I wrote what continues to be one of my best-read blog posts, entitled Reconciling Vision and Focus. The question it sought to answer is one that still resonates with founders today: Which is more important for your startup–a big vision or a specific focus? It s a question that consistently comes up in Continue Reading The post Which is more important: a big vision or a specific…
Techstars recently graduated its 3,000th company. We’ve helped our portfolio to raise $23.5 billion in total funding—and this year we’ll fund 700+ new companies through 54 accelerators around the world. As many in the startup world already know, mentors are a key element of the success of Techstars-funded companies. When I reflect on how we Continue Reading The post The Power of Mentorship…
Black women are the fastest-growing-but-still-least-funded segment of the entrepreneur universe. That s why this Juneteenth, I ve invited Makisha Boothe, Founder and Head Business Coach of Sistahbiz Global Network, a business accelerator for Black women entrepreneurs, to write this guest post, which I invite you to help amplify. Makisha shares her thoughts on the unique challenges facing Continue…
The first time many founders see the inside of a board room is when they step in to lead their board. But how do boards work? How should they be structured, managed, and leveraged so that startups can grow, avoid pitfalls, and get the best out of their boards? If you’re looking for answers to Continue Reading The post The Essential Guide to Startup Boards appeared first on Hi, I m David G. Cohen .