# Techstars

> Techstars is a global pre-seed investor and startup accelerator founded in Boulder, Colorado in 2006. It runs three-month, mentorship-driven accelerator programs that give early-stage founders capital, a dense mentor network, and lifelong connections in exchange for equity. Since its first class in 2007, Techstars has backed more than 10,000 founders across programs in dozens of cities and 150+ countries, producing companies such as SendGrid, DigitalOcean, ClassPass, PillPack and Remitly.

- **Founded:** 2006
- **Headquarters:** Boulder, Colorado, USA
- **Founders:** David Cohen (Co-founder & CEO), Brad Feld (Co-founder), Jared Polis (Co-founder), Shirley Romig (Chief Operating Officer at Techstars), Sabrina Kelly (President at Techstars)
- **Team size:** Several hundred employees plus a global network of thousands of mentors
- **Products:** Techstars Accelerators, Founder Catalyst, Startup Weekend, Startup Week, Techstars Anywhere / Remote programs
- **Notable:** Accelerated more than 10,000 founders since 2006, Invested in 5,000+ companies with 22+ reaching unicorn status, Portfolio has generated tens of billions in follow-on funding and cumulative market cap

## Products & services

- **Techstars Accelerators** — Three-month, mentorship-driven accelerator programs run in cities worldwide. Founders receive investment plus intensive mentorship, ending in a demo day.
- **Founder Catalyst** — A pre-accelerator program giving early-stage entrepreneurs startup education, mentorship and community before they are ready to raise.
- **Startup Weekend** — 54-hour weekend events where aspiring founders form teams, build a product concept and pitch it. A global grassroots entrepreneurship program.
- **Startup Week** — Community-driven, multi-day entrepreneurship conferences hosted in cities around the world.
- **Techstars Anywhere / Remote programs** — Distributed accelerator options letting founders participate without relocating.

## Achievements

- Accelerated more than 10,000 founders since 2006
- Invested in 5,000+ companies with 22+ reaching unicorn status
- Portfolio has generated tens of billions in follow-on funding and cumulative market cap
- Early backer of SendGrid (acquired by Twilio for ~$3B) and PillPack (acquired by Amazon for ~$753M)
- Programs run in 150+ countries with $4M+ in founder perks

## Latest updates

- **2024-01** — Co-founder David Cohen returned as CEO to refocus Techstars on founders and mentorship after a period of restructuring.
- **2025-06** — Techstars announced it would bring its accelerator back to Boulder in 2026 through a partnership with local founders and investors.
- **2025-09** — Fall 2025 accelerator cohorts kicked off across 11+ cities worldwide.
- **2026-01** — DigitalOcean Startups joined as a 2026 Premier Partner, giving portfolio founders access to cloud infrastructure.

## Links

- Website: https://www.techstars.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/techstars
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/techstars
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/techstars
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techstars/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/techstars

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