Some companies may worry they are too far along to apply to Techstars if they’ve already raised lots of money.
Techstars has previously invested in many companies that have already raised a Series A round, had $1m+ of annual revenue run rate, with mature products, or had a staff of 50+ (see the list appended below). We have also invested in a team of experienced founders who were in the earliest stages of launching their next venture.
Ideally you are somewhere in between. When in doubt, just contact us, and we will be happy to discuss this in detail.
What’s important is that you think of Techstars as a co-founder. When you join a Techstars program, we offer $20k as a token of our faith in your startup. This is not a valuation exercise, and we will not negotiate on the valuation. You’ll also have access to a $100k convertible note, which converts at a $3mil or $5mil cap, depending on your previous raise. We’re always happy to share the draft term-sheet and other documents, anytime.
Bear in mind that the 6% common-stock participation fee for the program actually comes with an equity back guarantee. What this means is if you go through the program and you finish the thirteen weeks and you don’t feel that Techstars provided you with 6% worth of benefit from the program, you can buy those shares back at the same price we paid for them. This is how we put money where our mouths are. We want companies who go through the program to be happy with the experience that they have with Techstars, making sure that we’re providing as much possible value as we can.
Here’s a list of a few startups that had already raised over $1million, before they joined Techstars.
- CartFresh
- ChoreMonster
- Cloudability
And here’s the story, in their own words - Contently
And here’s the story, in their own words - CoolChip
- Cuseum
And here’s the story, in their own words - EMOTIV
- FEM
- Fortified Bicycle
- GrabCAD
And here’s the story, in their own words - Grapevine
And here’s the story, in their own words - Hot
- Imperson
- LISNR
And here’s the story, in their own words - MakersKit
- Medicast
- Onswipe
And here’s the story, in their own words - Plated
- Rally
- Revolar
And here’s the story, in their own words - Rocketbook
- Section.io
And here’s the story, in their own words - Silversheet
- Sphero
And here’s the story, in their own words - Stasis Labs
- StatMuse
- ThriveHive
- Ubooly
