# Sabrina Kelly

> Sabrina Kelly is a people and talent leader who rose from technology recruiting to become President of Techstars, one of the world's largest startup accelerator and investment platforms. Over roughly a decade at Techstars she led People Operations globally, served as Chief People Officer, and built scalable HR functions across markets in the US and Europe. Earlier she recruited technical talent for names like Spotify, IAC, and Etsy in New York, and founded the HR function at CustomMade in Boston. She is known for an empathetic, direct, and pragmatic approach to building culture and managing distributed teams.

- **Role:** President at Techstars
- **Organizations:** Techstars, ButcherBox, CustomMade, Winter Wyman, WhoCo
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA in Communications, minor in Information Technology, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- **Known for:** Rose from technology recruiter to President of Techstars, Led People Operations globally at Techstars for roughly five years, Built scalable HR functions across multiple markets in the US and Europe

## Career timeline

- **—** — Began career in technology recruiting at Winter Wyman
- **—** — Recruited technical talent for companies including Spotify, IAC, and Etsy in the New York startup scene
- **2012** — Hired to found and build the HR function at CustomMade in Boston
- **—** — Served as Chief People Officer at WhoCo, later acquired by Bolster
- **—** — Joined Techstars, holding roles including VP of Talent, VP of People, and VP of Portfolio Talent
- **2024** — Named Chief People Officer at Techstars
- **—** — Promoted to President of Techstars

## Achievements

- Rose from technology recruiter to President of Techstars
- Led People Operations globally at Techstars for roughly five years
- Built scalable HR functions across multiple markets in the US and Europe
- Founded the HR function at CustomMade from the ground up
- Recruited top technical talent for high-profile companies including Spotify, IAC, and Etsy
- Served as Chief People Officer at WhoCo through its acquisition by Bolster

## Latest updates

- **2024-09** — Named Chief People Officer at Techstars
- **2026-07** — Serving as President at Techstars

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrinakelly1/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/sabrina-kelly
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-31