Achievement Unlocked: How Techstars Helped GameWisp Level Up

In the summer of 2014, the founders of GameWisp had the opportunity to participate in the Techstars program in Chicago. We knew it would be a grueling experience, but the magnitude of the challenge was nothing we could have realistically anticipated. A snapshot of our time: our team worked 11 hour days, 6 days a week (and sometimes 7). We were all painfully far away from our family and friends. We had never been challenged on so many levels, at such an incredible pace.When they say rocket fuel, they mean rocket fuel.

Techstars was one of the most difficult things I have ever done.

It was also one of the most life-changing and rewarding. Why?

I’ll put it simply: the entire destiny of our company (and, frankly, my life) changed over the course of a summer. We took a chance on an unexpected opportunity, were able to grind out a ton of new experience, and invested that experience into new and enhanced abilities that made us much more formidable as a business and as business people. We were able to level up our business.

Techstars is built to do this for companies in a variety of ways. I’d like to highlight three ways in particular that speak to our experience going through the program.

Smart and Passionate People

Techstars directors often say that when they consider companies, it comes down to five things, in a specific order: “Team, Team, Team, Market, Idea.”It is first and foremost about the people. The other pieces are incredibly important, but ultimately secondary to the primary resource of a company: the people involved.In much the same way, the most important thing about Techstars from a participant company’s perspective is the people that are a part of the program. When I look back on our time in Techstars Chicago, it was the relationships that made the crucible of Techstars not only survivable and productive, but invaluable and life-changing.

Staff

It starts with the managing directors and staff. We worked closely with the directors of our class: Troy Henikoff and Steve Farsht. Not only did they make themselves available to us everyday, they were in the thick of it with us for the entirety of the summer… even sitting in the pit with the teams throughout the entire program. The rest of the team they built around them was full of incredibly smart, passionate, and helpful individuals. Everyone provides tremendous value to your business. From board members like Sam Yagan, who bring invaluable advice born out of their experience, to associates and hackstars (like Kunal, Julia, Jon, Ana, Brendon, and more) who help and guide you through the day to day craziness.

Mentors

The mentors they brought in to help guide us were of the highest caliber. We were able to work with executives from companies like GrubHub and Redbox, and experts from successful firms ranging from marketing to technical to HR. Navigating the many interesting ideas and pieces of advice they bring up is certainly a challenge, but sorting through a pile of gems to find the diamonds is certainly not a true hardship.

Cohort

The other teams in the program are your partners in crime, confidants, and challengers. The bonds you form with the other members of your cohort will sustain you through the summer and carry over throughout the life of your business (if you invest in them). No one else knows what you are going through exactly as much as they do, and it’s a unique opportunity to build relationships that can last and encourage you through the long journey of entrepreneurship. I could unpack this for hours with you, if I just had the time. One anecdote: we often competed with another couple teams to be the last in the office everyday… whether they knew it or not, it was a source of pride when we outlasted them. Everyone pushes each other, and it is transformative for your business and your culture.

Our Team

Finally, Techstars was an incredible opportunity for us to build a unique relationship amongst the team members, and especially the founders, of GameWisp. We were in the trenches together like never before. Growth as a team like we gained through the program is just unavailable through any other means. As a team, we worked harder than we ever had, fought more often, soared so high in victories, and walked together through the lows of crushing defeats. We experienced all the emotions. All of them. But we were together, and that’s a bond that helped to steel our resolve to continue to build a successful business together after we graduated from the Techstars program.

If the interpersonal value was the only thing the program offered, I would say it was worth it. Fortunately, the people were just the foundation of the value we gained from the program.

Resources to Focus, Learn, and Go Fast

The best idea in the world is dead without the resources to make it a reality. Techstars gave us the resources we needed to make GameWisp successful.

Time

GameWisp used to be something we worked on in our spare time, outside of our jobs as computer science PhD students, lawyers, and commercial real estate appraisers. Techstars gave us the option to leave those things behind, and make GameWisp our primary focus. The speed of the evolution of our business changed dramatically when we were given the time to all think deeply about our market and how we could solve important problems within it. Having the space of mind to focus on the people we were trying to help with our product allowed us to iterate exponentially faster.

Funding

We received our first outside funding through Techstars. The funding enabled us to focus our time on GameWisp, as I mentioned, but it also gave us our first taste of being able to present our idea to the world as it lived in our heads. We had the resources to try new things, look professional, and hire employees. Add to that the amazing amount of free services we had access to through Techstars, and we had the wide world of opportunity opened before us.

Education

We learned how to be business people at Techstars. There are new things to learn hourly during the program, and they vary widely. We learned about financing, and investors, and raising money, and selling, and customer development, and customer acquisition, and on and on… simply through mentors and through having the resources to experiment.

Believers

Finally, we desperately needed people to believe in us, and in our market. Techstars gave us the chance to believe in ourselves at a deeper level and to do something special because they went all in on us. This piece was more transformative than you can realize, before you have the backing of passionate people helping you to push forward.

An Expansive, Generous Network

The Techstars alumni network is an incredible resource to companies currently in and also those graduated from the program.

• The experience at Techstars does not just end the moment you finish your demo day pitch. It continues forever. Not just like fake “forever,” but real forever.
• They are always building resources for their founders to leverage, regardless of when you joined the Techstars family.
• The network is full of people that can actually help you, and not only can they help you… they will truly take time out of their life to help you. They care like crazy.
• The network is full of companies that have been through Techstars, but also through every stage of business from idea, to startup, to growth, to exit and IPO. You can get help to successfully navigate through any problem. All you have to do is just ask.

So What?

What did all this mean for us practically?

It means that we were able to mature as founders, were able to actually take a stab at making this crazy idea of ours a reality, and it built a foundation in us to believe in our business and ultimately be able to execute on it. In every business, there are inflection points that change the course of the business completely. Techstars was that for us.

What does this mean for you?

You should certainly apply to Techstars, and if you get accepted, you should absolutely do it. If you do it, you should be coachable and soak up advice. You should take the resources you get, and you should act. You should take advantage of the time you have in the program, and you should get ready for the ride of your life. It will be hard, but it will undoubtedly take you and your business to the next level.

Originally Published on blog.gamewisp.com on Apr 24, 2015