Recently, this post about our evolution came out from Techstars. Of course, as Chairman, I know of, and strongly support, the strategic changes that are happening at Techstars. We are strengthening our ability to invest in more startups and their founders than any other company in the world. And helping founders be successful has always been our goal.   I also knew that people would be sad about us no longer running accelerators in certain markets. I was personally absolutely super sad about closing the original Techstars accelerator location in Boulder after this next class, as well ..read more

I had been wanting to take Rollie on my customary volunteering trip with Globe Aware for a few years, but the pandemic got in the way. We finally got it done in February, 2024. Long time readers may remember when I did similar trips (China with Andrew, then Costa Rica with Delaney) with my older kids when they were around 12 years old. The goal is to help them really understand the 20% or so of the world that lives in poverty, and that they can be happy without all of our modern conveniences. The poverty rate in Guatemala is around 55%, so I decided to take Rollie to El Remete, Guatemala. As b ..read more

Brad Feld and I started the Give First podcast in May of 2019. We’re approaching our 80th episode, and we’ve had some awesome guests and great insights for startups. In case you’re new to the podcast or missed a few episodes, here are a few playlists on Spotify based on different themes that you may be interested in. We hope you enjoy listening to a few episodes and subscribing as we head into 2023 together! The post The Give First podcast playlists appeared first on Hi, I'm David G. Cohen ..read more

Techstars recently graduated its 3,000th company. We’ve helped our portfolio to raise $23.5 billion in total funding—and this year we’ll fund 700+ new companies through 54 accelerators around the world. As many in the startup world already know, mentors are a key element of the success of Techstars-funded companies. When I reflect on how we got here, I think it’s important to reflect on how important mentors have been to Techstars itself. One of my key early mentors was Bill Warner. If you’ve ever edited a video, you’ve likely used the technology that he developed at Avid. One night, whe ..read more

Black women are the fastest-growing but still least funded segment of the entrepreneur universe. That’s why, this Juneteenth, I’ve invited Makisha Boothe, Founder and Head Business Coach of Sistahbiz Global Network, a business accelerator for Black women entrepreneurs, to write this guest post which I invite you to help amplify. Makisha shares her thoughts on the unique challenges facing Black female entrepreneurs–and the work that still needs to be done to give Black women full access to the freedom that entrepreneurship can open up. – David As we approach Juneteenth this year,  I reflec ..read more

The first time many founders see the inside of a board room is when they step in to lead their board. But how do boards work? How should they be structured, managed, and leveraged so that startups can grow, avoid pitfalls, and get the best out of their boards? If you’re looking for answers to those questions and more, you’ll be pleased to know that one of the most essential books for startup founders has been updated in a second edition that launches today. Startup Boards: A Field Guide to Building and Leading an Effective Board of Directors is a comprehensive guide on creating, growing, and l ..read more

Today I received an email from a founder who was looking for investment from software/internet investors. That happens every day. This particular email was addressed “TO” me and approximately 25 other investors, many of whom I know personally. Unfortunately, this also happens several times a week. What does this say about the person sending the email? 1. They seem lazy. They just copy and pasted as many investor emails as they could find into the “to” line and then wrote one impersonal email. I don’t want to invest in lazy people. 2. They don’t seem to respect other people’s time. Who cares ..read more

I recently joined my colleague Saba Karim, Director of Startup Pipeline at Techstars, for a one-hour “pitch practice” session on Twitter Spaces hosted by Adam Soccolich (aka Twitter’s @TheBestOfAdam) and… wow! We heard a variety of pitches from a diverse group of founders from around the world. Some came with experience from other startups. Some were first-time entrepreneurs. A few were currently in Techstars accelerators. A few others had received feedback from Saba in previous Spaces sessions and were coming back with more polished pitches. Some were stepping up to pitch in public for the fi ..read more

“How is an early-stage founder expected to interpret the Give First philosophy?” That’s the polite way of rewording a question Keith Coleman, Founder of Fraudmarc (Techstars Atlanta 2017), posed to Brad Feld and me in an email a little while back. Keith got our attention with his subject line, “give first, finish last.” His email clued us in to a difficulty he and other Techstars founders have had—or are still having—in trying to “Give First” at the same time they were rightly focusing their time and energy on the very survival of their companies.  In conversations with these other Techs ..read more

On today’s blog, I am doing something different, by amplifying the voice of my colleague, Neal Sáles-Griffin, Managing Director, Techstars Chicago. Neal shares his perspective, personal experience and offers reflection and connection on this important holiday of Juneteenth. It is my hope that my readers learn from Neal’s thoughts and then take action. – David Do you remember how it felt when you first learned about the lockdown restrictions last year? I can recall many who felt trapped, restricted, and in fear for their lives. These feelings (and others more horrific) are what black peop ..read more