David Cohen’s Post

Check out what we’ve been up to in the latest Techstars newsletter! It includes funding news, founder mental health advice, highlights from 3500+ open jobs in the Techstars network, and loads of #givefirst. ⭐ https://lnkd.in/gnCWqKAp

Techstars State of Innovation Survey We’ve publishing the Techstars State of Innovation survey 2024 – our annual deep dive into how our global network of entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs and VCs view innovation and the startup life in their sector, startup community, and around the world. 1,550 people took part. Here’s a flavor of what they told us: IPOs ARE OUT (FOR NOW): Entrepreneurs are no less ambitious, but those ambitions are less likely to include an IPO. With fewer startups going public overall, just 15% of the founders we surveyed say their primary long-term goal for their startup is to go public. 34% say their goal is to be acquired, while 30% would opt to remain private. 60% OF FOUNDERS SAY “ACCESS TO CAPITAL” IS THEIR BIGGEST HEADACHE: When asked for the most important issues affecting their company today, 60% of entrepreneurs cite “access to capital” (respondents could select up to three options). The difficulty entrepreneurs have fundraising correlates with the ‘optimism gap’ we found between founders and VCs. Only 50% of VCs are “somewhat optimistic” (44%) or “extremely optimistic” (6%) for their firm this year, compared with 76% of entrepreneurs.  STARTUP CULTURE = LONG HOURS + LITTLE DOWNTIME: In a tight fundraising market, nothing less than utter conviction and a flat-out approach are required to beat the odds. This is reflected in the hours entrepreneurs work, with nearly one-third (31%) working at least 60 hours per week, and almost one in five (17%) working 70 hours or more. THE FOUNDER FLYWHEEL: A pattern of entrepreneurs going on to found other startups continues, showing how momentum within an ecosystem becomes self-sustaining. 79% of current entrepreneurs have worked for other startups, while 44% say that at least some coworkers have gone on to establish other startups. IT TAKES A COMMUNITY: When asked for the biggest innovation driver in their sector, answers are spread evenly between “VC/Angel investors” (22%), “Accelerator Programs” (19%), and “Community/Proximity” to Other Startups (18%). This dovetails with the Techstars’ approach where the accelerator itself is just one driver, and it is only when all those elements come together that the sparks of innovation fly. NEARLY HALF OF FOUNDERS HAVE EXPERIENCED ANXIETY IN THE PAST YEAR: How well can startups truly serve their customers if founders are suffering poor mental health? Long hours and an always-on mindset are clearly taking a toll throughout the industry. With respondents (entrepreneurs and VCs) able to check as many boxes as apply to them, 45% say they have experienced “Anxiety” in the past year, with 23% experiencing “Depression”. Download our full report for much more. https://lnkd.in/gFC47aHw #startups #VC #fundraising #VentureCapital #growth #founders #Entrepreneurs #preseed #seed #innovation

I love doing the #givefirst podcast. I get to talk to amazing people doing world changing things. Interested in the future of aviation? Ampaire is advancing hybrid electric aviation, aiming to cut aircraft fuel usage by 50-70%, addressing both environmental and economic issues in the aviation sector.  I talk to Techstars alum Kevin Noertker about it on the show. https://lnkd.in/gQyRarpD

Founder to Founder: Jim Foote Really incredible story of how Jim Foote forever changed how cancer is being treated. After his son was diagnosed with bone cancer, Jim discovered the treatment protocol hadn't changed in 25 years so he started First Ascent Biomedical (Techstars 2021) to create new solutions. Jim Foote's journey is remarkable. He shared his story and advice for founders at https://lnkd.in/gJbEhrFY 

On Friday, I stopped by Colorado-based @pretred, a @Techstars portfolio company that makes the most sustainable rubber barriers in the world out of waste tires. What an incredible place! It's part of a "Waste to Value" movement. And... they're growing like crazy. I love when companies do good and do well at the same time! Congrats to Eric Davis and team on building something really special. https://lnkd.in/gwH5hTDy

The Techstars spring 2024 programs just wrapped with some pretty incredible founders and companies. 268 companies and 537 founders 1,731 mentors engaged with this class 27% of CEOs are women 25% increase in sustainability companies Watch these founders change the world! More on them via this link. https://lnkd.in/gBCvnMnR 

https://lnkd.in/gne2Hr3y Twelve Labs (Techstars 2021), the startup making searching videos easier and faster, has raised $50M Series A. 🚀 Congratulations to Founder Jae Lee and the entire Twelve Labs team! Jae Lee recently joined me on the Give First podcast to chat about how he developed his product and how Techstars helped launch the company. Check out the episode at https://lnkd.in/gTknpnpV 

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 share my thoughts on them here. First, “Was I forced into action in an interim role“? This is being asked because Maelle stepped down for health reasons, and of course we all wish her all the best as she addresses those issues. But… No, nobody made me take the CEO role! And, no it’s not an interim role. Of course, nothing in life is permanent, but my intention is that I’ll be CEO long term and indefinitely. My time as Chairman has provided a different perspective on what’s working (and what’s not), and how to lead Techstars to the next 17 years of even greater success. And that got me really fired up! Second, I’ve been asked “Does this mean Techstars accelerators will return to places like Boulder, Seattle, etc?” I quickly addressed this question with our employees, LPs, and partners because they were all asking. There is a lot of fresh pain there. I have lots of friends in those markets. Some of my friends are sad and disappointed. A few are even angry. Ultimately we are running a business and business decisions get made. Of course, we want to invest in the best founders we can find, with the most interesting ideas. There are a ton of interesting founders and interesting ideas in those startup communities. We were a pretty important part of their community and now they understandably feel like we aren’t. What we have to fix, at a minimum, is that feeling. Maybe there are opportunities to do more. Maybe we can earn those opportunities. We love those communities, we owe them more than sadness and disappointment. Finally, I’ve been asked “Does this mean that Techstars will change our Headquarters back to Boulder, instead of New York?” Our official HQ remains NYC, however we have 3 major offices globally: New York, Denver, and London. But we also have employees all around the world, since we operate in so many startup communities. When we designed our existing NYC office as the HQ a few months ago, it did not mean that we were relocating any employees. Because most of our executive team is based in NYC, including the CEO at the time, it just made sense. So while our HQ is officially in NYC, we have major offices in Denver and London, operate around the world, and as CEO I am based in Boulder, Colorado. We are part of startup communities everywhere. If you are an alumni, mentor, partner, or feel connected to Techstars in any way, I’d love to hear from you. The inbound support from the network has been amazing already, and I can feel the 💚. Thank you. It means the world. https://lnkd.in/gBXBcdpf

Today I announced that Maelle Gavet, Techstars CEO, will be leaving the company at the end of the month for health reasons and that I have returned as CEO. Over the past three and a half years, we have accomplished a great deal under Maëlle’s leadership. The company has made 2,000+ startup investments. In 2023, 469 Techstars portfolio companies raised a total of over $2.4B, with 322 of them raising rounds of $1M or more. Applications to our programs doubled between 2022 and 2023 while our quality filter has remained as high as ever – an average of just 3% of those applicants were accepted onto our programs. We continue to rate highly with entrepreneurs in our programs, who in 2023 scored Techstars a nine out of 10 for providing business value. All of that while the diversity of our founders rose to 25% female founders and 36% black and brown founders (in 2023).    I want to thank Maëlle for pouring her passion, blood, sweat and tears into Techstars. I feel fortunate to have worked so closely with her. She built a great team, made many tough decisions, and bravely enacted complex changes that were sorely needed. But now Maëlle must focus on her health. I know I speak for everyone at Techstars when I say that we wish her strength and courage as she addresses what's ahead. https://lnkd.in/gNxHZsAk While I am excited to be back as CEO of Techstars, I was never far away. I was the first employee and have been an employee here continuously since then. I was the first Managing Director of our first and at the time, only, accelerator (Boulder) in the early years. In total, I have served as CEO or co-CEO for thirteen of the seventeen years that Techstars has existed and have been on the Board since the company’s inception. Reach out if you have any questions, but in the meantime, I will continue to focus on making Techstars even better for founders!