Entries for March 2008

Last chance to apply for 2008

The application deadline for TechStars 2008 is tomorrow. That’s Monday, March 31 at 11:59:59pm Mountain Daylight Time.

Last year we had a team that submitted two minutes after the deadline. It was a bummer to have to tell them that their application would not be considered. It wouldn’t be right to accept late submissions, so we just don’t.

As I write this, with just about 27 hours left to submit an application, we have received 303 applications. Last year, we received 302 in total, so it’s safe to say demand for TechStars has grown.

Thanks to everyone who has submitted an application! We truly appreciate it and it looks like we’ll have some awesome companies to select from again this year.

We’ll select finalists (up to 30 companies) by April 10th. See the full schedule for more details.

Brad Feld on NPR talking about The Free Internet Economy

Many of the businesses that submit applications to TechStars have no clue how they’ll ultimately make money. In the age of free web services, many generically cite “advertising” as the revenue model.

Yesterday NPR interviewed TechStars founder Brad Feld, Kevin Rose (Digg), and Chris Anderson (Wired) in a piece called “Who Pays for Our Online Lives?”

In the interview, Brad talks about the various models for making money on the web in the age of free consumer services including lead fee models, virtual goods, selling access to consumers, and subscription-based services. It’s well worth a listen.

Brad Feld interviewed by W3W3 on TechStars

We’re excited that W3W3 has become a sponsor of TechStars this year and will help us get more audio and video action onto the web this summer. Here’s their fresh interview with Brad Feld, one of the partners at TechStars.

How early is too early?

I got an email from an applicant today asking for clarification from us on just how early is too early for TechStars. They cited the fact that we said “Nothing is too early. We’ve accepted companies with no more than an idea…” on the web site.

This particular company has an idea, two founders, and a splash page. I emailed them and asked if they had a prototype or other early progress on the idea. And if not, I wanted to know if they had built other stuff in the past that we could check out. This prompted their request to clarify our position on investing in idea stage companies. So here is some insight:

1. As investors, we obviously would like to be confident in your ability to actually deliver on the concept you’re thinking about. At a minimum, this means we need to see some demonstration of talent. It doesn’t have to be extensive progress on your current idea. But it has to lead us to believe that you’re somebody who can deliver. This is why we ask you to reference stuff you’ve built in the past on the application. Idea people with no history of execution or at least tinkering will have a tough time getting into TechStars. And a splash page isn’t going to impress anybody.

2. We’ll probably receive 300+ applications again this year. So progress on an idea is very likely to be at least a “tie-breaker” against other companies with great ideas.

3. We believe strongly that natural founders do stuff. They play. They tinker. They just get going without waiting for someone to tell them it’s ok to get going. They know that this is the only way to turn an idea into something of value. So we look for that.

So I suppose the best answer to the question “How early is too early?” is if you’re an idea stage company that is so early that it a) hasn’t even started on a product and b) have founders with no demonstrable history of doing anything related to what you’re proposing, then it’s probably too early. This doesn’t mean it won’t be a huge success. But it probably does mean you’re too early. Fortunately, this is a pretty low bar. You can get over it by ripping out a quick prototype or pointing at something that demonstrates that you’re talented and capable. So go for it!

Your sticker here?

Seen at the Under The Radar conference held today in Silicon Valley: The Scobleizer’s laptop, showing off his Filtrbox and Socialthing stickers.

There are just 10 days left to apply to TechStars!

Somewhat Frank TV from TechStars

Last week, Frank Gruber and Eric Olson were out in Boulder throwing TECH Cocktail. While they were in town, they stopped in at TechStars to say hi and shot this quick video about TechStars at The Bunker for Somewhat Frank TV.

For more from TECH Cocktail, check out the video of the companies that presented there, including TechStars companies Filtrbox and Socialthing. I had a great time that night myself. Rumor is TECH Cocktail will be back in Boulder soon.
 

Only 14 days left to apply to TechStars!

A few words about the Bunker

I’ve been asked a few times lately about the Bunker, which is the space that the TechStars companies can use to work during the summer. I’ve also read some chatter out on the web about how TechStars companies are required to work out of the Bunker. Since this is false, I figured I’d address it here.

We have 10,000 square feet of functional office space that does serve as our central hub. We do our sessions here about three nights a week, for example. It’s set up with work pods as well as lounge style facilities, along with an assortment of meeting spaces, a great Internet pipe, and all the other necessities.

TechStars companies can use the space, but they’re not required to work there.

Last summer about half of the companies decided to work out of our space, and about half worked from elsewhere (typically from where they were living). In the end, we didn’t see any meaningful correlation between where you worked and how much progress you made. Some people just dig the “work with others” vibe, and others like to hide somewhere. Both can work.

So, to answer the common question - it’s just an option that we provide. After all, as our favorite saying goes: “It’s your company.”

How to get some attention

Last week was TechStars For A Day, and about 100 founders from 50 or so companies who have applied to TechStars showed up. We had a great time getting to know each other.

Lots of folks made an impression that day. Some good, some bad, as you would expect.

The event came and went, followed by lots of thank you emails and extended conversation. We cleaned up, moved on, and I came in today and saw this.

It was a gift of ping pong balls (fully branded of course) for TechStars, because this particular company had seen that we like to hit around quite a bit here at TechStars. That’s the sign of a good marketer. They didn’t bring a printed business plan or a stack of business cards, they brought personalization and context.Of course, bribery is not necessary or barely even expected.

Whether this company gets into TechStars or not remains to be seen, but they’ve certainly made an impression. They stood out. Do you?

Thanks Kayla and Austin! Very thoughtful.

Finding your technical founder

I hear a version of this question a lot (like the one below today from Dawn):

I talked to a firm that really likes my business plan but thinks I should have a technical co-founder. SIGH Any ideas how I could find a really good tech guy, preferably with some cache???

While not every business needs a technical co-founder, many (most) benefit from some early technical vision that is unlikely to be provided by the business founder. So where do you find these people that can code, help refine your technical vision and check the technical cache box? Here are a couple of ideas.

Surf your sandbox. You know people. They know people. If you can’t think of someone who fits the bill from your own network, start asking around to other people you trust. Particularly other technologists who will have a good sense for whether someone they might recommend has the technical chops to really help you out. Many a great business/technical founder marriage has been made by a well intentioned third party.

Pay attention to the local scene. Technical talent hangs out at various places in your town. You need to find them (since they are less likely to find you). If you are lucky enough to have a New Tech Meetup in your area or Bar Camp, StartupWeekend or Open Coffee Club or some similar semi-organized event that attracts technologists and entrepreneurs alike make sure you frequent them and talk up your ideas. You’re looking for someone who not only can add to your project, but who also shares your enthusiasm. If your town doesn’t have any of these - start one. You’d be amaze at how quickly people will come out of the ether to share ideas at events like the ones listed above.

Be vocal. My recent “stealth or not” post aside, if you’re looking to find someone to share in the passion of your idea you need to be talking it up. On your blog. In comments to other peoples’ posts. In web forums. Maybe even on Craig’s List. Don’t be shy about sharing your idea and asking for help. I know a bunch of co-founders who found each other on message boards or in similar forums.

Check your mentors. This is really an extension of surfing your sandbox, but you shouldn’t be shy about asking around for help. Bother the local VC bloggers, ask the people that are helping you get off the ground if they know anyone. Be aggressive about asking people who might have good ideas for help.

Good luck! I’d love to hear from teams that met in the ways described above (or in any other way for that matter) - founder stories are always entertaining.

TechStars For A Day was a blast

Thanks to everyone who came out to TechStars For A Day on March 5th. We had a great time with more than 100 applicants present, and we hope you did too!

The day started out with a general orientation to TechStars along with Q&A, followed by a funny and enlightening presentation by Ryan McIntyre about the history of Excite.com, which he founded. We then talked through some of the top twelve startup tips from last summer, and several people in the crowd correctly pointed out that we didn’t have time to get to all of them (here’s the full list). Then we heard Eric Marcoullier tell the story of his company, MyBlogLog. We wrapped up with what many in attendance told me was the highlight of the day - a discussion with about 15 of the founders from last years companies. Thanks to everyone who presented and especially to the applicants who took the time to come and learn more about TechStars. Applicants came from as far away as South Africa, England, and Australia to spend the day with us, which was pretty amazing. I know many of the applicants stayed around to enjoy our beautiful weather and hang around Boulder a little while longer. I saw many of the same folks at the Tech Cocktail event we had in town last night as well.If you didn’t get the chance to come to TechStars for A Day, we still hope to see your application before the March 31st deadline. Please submit your application early if possible, as it gives us more time to interact with you before our April 10 deadline to to notify finalists.