Listen to Techstars new CEO Maëlle Gavet on the #GiveFirst podcast

Brad Feld and I recently chatted with Maëlle Gavet who is the CEO of Techstars. I really encourage you to get to know her by listening in to hear more about where Techstars is headed in the future. Maëlle has only been in the job for about two months, and I have to say I’m …

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file under: Startups

How did the 2020 pandemic impact startups?

Here’s a chart of financings that happened inside the Techstars portfolio during 2020 vs 2019. 2020, of course, will likely be known as the year of the pandemic. There were 623 discrete financings totaling approximately $3.1B in our existing portfolio of 1,751 active companies in 2020. By contrast in 2019, there were 619 financings totaling …

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file under: Startups

Are you sure?

One of my favorite new questions to ask is “Are you sure?” As I’ve been helping Techstars CEO Maëlle Gavet get up to speed, I noticed she’s been asking me that question quite often! I’m pretty certain that she asks many people at Techstars this same question too. When I’m asked “are you sure?”, it …

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file under: Startups

E is for Engage

Recently, on my social accounts I said that my new years resolution was something that began with E. That was a fun little game, and here are the “guesses” that I received. Exhale. Emigrate to France. Eat crepes. Environment. E-sports hall of fame. E pluribus unum. Empathy. Electric Vehicle. Equanimity. Entertainment. Everest. E-Techstars. Exit. Enjoy. …

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file under: Startups

Introducing Maëlle Gavet as CEO of Techstars

“Thoughtful leadership evolution in growing and scaling companies is healthy. It happens in strong, successful, mission-driven companies all the time. We’ve seen it over and over again in our own investment portfolio – and helped to mentor our founders through these strategic decisions and transitions. It’s all part of the journey.”  Today, I’m thrilled and …

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How are startup financings and M&A impacted by the pandemic? (through November 2020)

Back in April of this year I wrote “Are financings and M&A slowing down during the pandemic?” with the goal of sharing the Techstars view of how things have been changing given the events of 2020. Here’s an update to that data through the end of October, 2020. Remember, the graphs show when the activity …

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file under: Startups