Techstars A Year On

It’s been a year since I boarded the plane from London to Denver to spend 3 months in Boulder for the Techstars 2018 program and it feels like the right time to structure and share the thoughts I have been working on for the last month.

​If you’re considering Techstars and you feel the equity deal might be a little raw or an MD hasn’t gotten you to drink the kool-aid yet, I implore you to read on.

The end of this January happens to coincide with 2 other events.

1. I am transitioning out of the Flex team as of 31st January 
2. I had the honour of heading back to Boulder before I left the USA to meet some of the new class (I even got a cracking interview with Lamine from Joust - head to thefirst1000.com to get the podcast early) 

The New Squad

​I am so excited for the new class. During the brief day I was there I spoke to such an insanely diverse set of founders. Founders solving low orbit to geostationary space cargo, founders solving old school wheelchair design and founders solving prehistoric US banking/unpaid invoices.

These lot probably think they know what is in store for them, but 12 months on I can tell you they have no idea.

What struck me, and continues to strike me as I continue to adventure with thefirst1000.com + my own consultancy is simply that there isn’t enough tech in the world. I am not saying that we need to build more products, but that there are billions of painful unsolved problems that tech can make go away.

I have had a number of people from the non tech world say that "we don’t need more apps” or websites and I am happy to stand by my words in saying that they are totally wrong.

What the new batch probably doesn’t embrace is just how much they don’t know yet. 12 months ago we stood around in a circle facing each other and a good number of us must have thought to ourselves that we were absolute bosses to be there. That yes there was room for growth but being a part of Techstars validated just how great we were. 

The Old Squad

​On my journey from LA via San Diego, Denver and Boulder back to London I had the fortune of catching up with a good number of the founders from my class. I will be back in 4/5 months at the most, but with a schedule on my terms I wanted to stop in and see what people were in need of.

I’ve found immense joy in reminiscing on last years program, but even more on being able to compare where we are now vs where we were then. The founders which remained hungry, humble and embraced a true growth mindset are forces to be reckoned with.

I'm talking about these lot having serious commercial and leadership prowess. If you meet a Techstars founder you think is great, just know that they’re going to get better and better and better.

Side note: Not sure I’m in this group. You’d have to ask my classmates. I strive every day to get better though, so I’ll get there.

I’ve also pondered at length whether this is just a part of growing up, but you can easily split test these founders against others who have not embraced the hunger and openness required, both from Techstars and externally.

I appreciate I’m using a lot of lofty language about an intangible skillset, but for all its worth… trust me this is real.

These things don’t come as standard within Techstars, you have to embrace the #GiveFirst mentality, help where it is needed and allow yourself to buy into the mantra that Techstars is for life.

This includes keeping people updated on your lows and asking for help. I would firmly say that those who do this have excelled, those who do not I know not of their progress. 

My New Stuff

​You have to read this section by first understanding that on paper:

• Techstars founders and MDs are some of the most time poor people I’ve ever met
  
• Techstars itself is a business that seeks to return on its investment in cohort companies.

Both of these prerequisites might suggest that any non techstars projects would fall by the wayside in someone’s inbox. That asking for help on anything that doesn’t have a quasi obvious ROI would fall into a cave of no response.

Well quite the opposite has happened actually. This is also the unspoken magic of the network.

From the first day I mentioned (a) That I was going rogue and (b) that I had an idea for a podcast I was playing with. Founders, MDs, Associates fell over themselves to help (even unsolicitedly). I’ve received inbound clients, introductions, ideas, suggestions, offers of manual help and time.

It has actually blown me away and in a few weeks I’ve built momentum up to a place that would have taken me 6+ months on my own. 

Techstars Is A Family Yo.

​I can’t wait to see my sisters and brothers continue to grow and to help them in every way possible. I look forward to the day I get an email at 1am from a new founder looking for advice or a call or an intro (actually happened this morning).

You think Techstars is this 13 week thing. You think demo day is the end. You think the end is important. In reality it only ends if you choose to have it end. There’s always more to learn, there’s always more help needed, there’s always more to give.

If you’re considering Techstars - reframe it. It’s not 13 weeks of your company time it’s the rest of your life.

That said - it is a process. It is not a magic pill. Be honest with yourself and your product/problem as to whether you’re ready to grow personally. It is by no means a cake walk.

​Embrace, open, hustle and grow.