Happy Birthday, Techstars
Over the last decade, Techstars has been a steady and special theme in my professional life.
I was living in Boulder when Techstars launched. As a newbie to the area, I was eager to find and connect to like-minded entrepreneurs and share my learnings from the previous 12 years of my own business-building journey.
My passion has always been to help people and businesses achieve their potential. Techstars’ #GiveFirst ethos aligned perfectly with my need to pay forward my own “blood, sweat, and tears” (skills, knowledge, and experience) to other entrepreneurs.
Over the years, I’ve had the good fortune to mentor dozens of teams and invest in a few, too. Getting involved in Techstars’ first fund was also a learning and one that delivered an amazing financial return.
Watching Techstars partner with both startup communities and global organizations to inspire entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic development is powerful, impressive and necessary. In addition, Techstars’ ability to attract the best and brightest entrepreneurs from around the world and then surround them with smart, caring mentors and investors is equally awe-inspiring.
Techstars helps entrepreneurs succeed and I am proud to be a part of it. Since 2007, the Techstars worldwide entrepreneur network has grown to more than 1,000 companies that have created more than 10,000 jobs. Incredible!
In my current role as CEO of Cintrifuse, we were honored to to host FounderCon 2016 in our region. Convening thousands of entrepreneurs, investors and corporate leaders in Cincinnati allowed us to light up the spirit of our own #startupcincy entrepreneurial community through new relationships with the Techstars’ network.
From my time as an early mentor, to a FounderCon partner and now as a Techstars’ board member, I offer heartfelt congratulations to all involved in our first decade of Techstars “experimentation.”
Now the Techstars team sets our sights on a new level of business-building that is destined to shape our global economy.
