Boston applications closed, Boulder applications open

Applications for the Boston program are now closed. We’re hard at work processing hundreds of applications for Boston, and approximately 25 finalists will be selected by January 23rd. The 10 or so companies to ultimately be invited will come from that group of finalists. If you applied to the Boston program and you are ultimately not selected, your application will automatically roll over for consideration for the Boulder program this summer.

Speaking of Boulder, we are now accepting applications for the summer version of TechStars. If you apply early enough, you might receive an invitation to TechStars For A Day. As always, check the schedule for important dates.

We hope to see your application soon!

Class of 2007 has thrown down the guantlet

I’m immensely proud of every one of those companies from 2007 who served as alpha testers for TechStars. TechStars has improved in substantial ways since year one, based largely on the feedback of those who have experienced it. Even within some of the companies from 2007 that have struggled and/or failed, I know that there are strong entrepreneurs who will just come back stronger.

The first class of ten companies went through TechStars in the summer of 2007. It’s just 2 1/2 years since then, and already we’ve seen four positive acquisitions from that class of ten companies. Wow.

First, in August of 2008 Socialthing was acquired by AOL. Since then, it’s become a central part of AOL’s strategy, morphing into their overall lifestreaming strategy. As part of this, Socialthing now exists within AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), now reaching somewhere around 100 million people.

Then just a month or two later, Automattic acquired Intense Debate in order to integrate it with WordPress. There are nearly twenty million WordPress blogs out there today, and sadly on most of them comments are still dark matter and still suck. Intense Debate will be a big part of fixing that.

Then in April of 2009, Limbo announced that it had acquired Brightkite. Brightkite has been funded with a total of $24M and has emerged as a market leading mobile social network, reaching millions of people each month.

And then today, Filtrbox announced that it had been acquired by Jive Software. We couldn’t be more thrilled for Ari, Tom, and the Filtrbox team. I stopped by their office today for a quick hello and it’s clear that they’re all very excited about Jive. It seems like Jive is just as excited. I think this move will quickly extend the reach of the well-designed scalable technology that Filtrbox has developed over the last few years.

It’s really gratifying to see the impact that the TechStars class of 2007 has had. Beyond just the exits, it’s great to see that the technologies and services that these companies have created are reaching larger and larger audiences, and impacting more and more people.

Let’s not forget J-Squared Media, which has bootstrapped to substantial success and profitability and is rocking with their latest app, MiniPlanet. Sometimes it’s too easy to focus on funding announcements and acquisitions. Here’s to Jesse and Joe for bootstrapping their way to success.

Those ten companies that went through TechStars in 2007 were really alpha testers. They gave critical feedback that made the program better for those who came along later. I’m proud of every single one of them for giving it their all – even though some have struggled and some have failed. I know that they’ll all be back, building more companies, creating more innovation, and learning from their experiences. I’m even more proud that many of them are mentoring other startups and sharing their experiences. They’ve learned the amazing value of mentorship, and I see many of them giving it back. Sure – They’ve shown up to help the 2008 and 2009 companies out. But more importantly, I think they’re generally fans of mentorship and believers in karma, and are happy to share their experiences with anyone.

I’m blown away by what the 2007 group of companies has accomplished and I don’t think they’re done making noise yet. I know that the 2008 and 2009 companies are watching! Time will tell. Will they accept the challenge? I have a feeling they’re all over it.

Applications for our Boston program close in just a few days, on January 11th. If you’ve got an awesome team and want to be a part of something special, I encourage you to apply now.

Is TechStars Really All That?

When I hold an information session or speak at an event about TechStars, I try to have a handful of TechStars alums on hand with me. Why? I tell my audiences that it’s rational to be skeptical of the glowing things I have to say about TechStars – heck, I’m basically contractually obligated to be a cheerleader!

But TechStars alums are another thing entirely. These folks have lived the program:  three months of insanely-intense company building, learning, and mentoring.

If you want to know whether TechStars is really all that and a bag of chips, the ~100 founders from our last four programs over the last three years are your best bet for the straight story.

Towards this end, we have assembled a slew of great blog posts written by TechStars alumni about the program. Never mind what the coaches have to say – listen to the players on the field!

TechStars is 100% driven by the mentorships it helps cultivate … The whole program is built around the idea that if you surround yourself with people who have been there, done that — they can help you avoid making the same mistakes they did. And believe me, it works.

Krista Paul / TravelFli / TechStars Boulder 2008

As soon as you arrive at the office, you’ll start connecting with 60+ mentors, most of whom have been in the trenches at least once, and understand how the sausage gets made. They’re eager to help, excited to teach, and even more excited to learn.

Alex Moore / Baydin / TechStars Boston 2009

TechStars is like a linear accelerator for your startup – you get to success … quickly and have access to incredible resources. Even if you know what you are doing, check it out. Even if you think giving up ANY equity is ridiculous, check it out… (’cause you are wrong).

Ari Newman / FiltrBox / TechStars Boulder 2007

I robbed [TechStars] blind. 6 points is a steal. Any start up with promise will earn these back ten-fold. You will get tremendous mentors, new customers, new partners, new investors, and a network of friends that will change your life.

George Aspland / Retel Technologies / TechStars Boulder 2009

[AccelGolf was] a pain in the ass during the acceptance process. First, we poked at the term sheet … and then continued to delay the decision as we did our diligence—we were confident that nothing could be as good as TechStars sounded.

We couldn’t have been more wrong.

William Sulinski / AccelGolf / TechStars Boston 2009

Imagine having the answer to everything. Better yet, imagine being able to get an answer for everything. And not just an answer, but the correct answer.

Mark O’Sullivan / Vanilla / TechStars Boulder 2009

It’s hard not to sound like we’re gushing when we talk about TechStars — honestly, it has been the greatest experience our team has had together. It totally transformed our business and gave us a stable platform of mentors, advice, and resources to launch from.

David Hoffman / NextBigSound / TechStars Boulder 2009

To simply say that [TechStars] was everything we could have asked for and more would be an understatement.

Isaac Keyet / Intense Debate / TechStars Boulder 2007

We encourage you to talk with the founders that have been through the TechStars program. You’ll find that they’re happy to be responsive to your questions. Just visit http://www.techstars.org/companies/ to find contact information for our alumni.

oneforty Well Wishes Charity Water Challenge

Last holiday season TechStars Boston 09 founder Laura Fitton (also known as @pistachio) decided to do something a little different by supporting Charity Water.  This year she sent out a Well Wishes “What can YOU do” challenge.  Challenge eh?  We can do that.

http://mycharitywater.org/techstarswellwishes

We set the bar at $3000 to raise, which will do a ton of good.  Charity Water is a very interesting organization with some very powerful reading on just why water.  We have joined Laura with the Well Wishes, and your organization can and should too!  Instructions on how to do this on their blog.

We have jumped out to $145 in the first hour! Would love if you can participate and share the page: http://mycharitywater.org/techstarswellwishes. View the page to see how close to the goal we are!

Also, we are very excited to see the news today about oneforty, congrats to the team!

Well hi there, Seattle!

We’re psyched to announce that TechStars is expanding to Seattle. We’ll run our first program there in the fall of 2010.

We’ve found the perfect person to run the program in Seattle. Andy Sack will be the Executive Director there. Andy is already well-known on the local startup scene as co-founder and Managing Partner of Seattle-based seed fund Founders’ Co-op, guest lecturer in entrepreneurship at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, and host of the weekly tech meetup Seattle Open Coffee. Andy has served as a TechStars mentor in both Boulder and Boston in the past, so he’s already intimately familiar with the program and how it works.

To me, the real story here is the way that the Seattle community has galvanized around TechStars. It’s really quite amazing and humbling. Just take a look at the Seattle mentor list for the evidence. Also, the way that the VCs and angels in Seattle have come together is simply awesome. The funding group includes Bezos Expeditions, Buerk Dale Victor, DFJ, Founder’s Co-op, Ignition Partners, Madrona Venture Group, Maveron, OVP, Second Avenue Partners, Trilogy Partners, WRF Capital, Voyager Capital, Vulcan Capital and many prominent angel investors. Wow.

“It’s incredible to see the support TechStars has engendered from the venture and angel community in Seattle. So many key investors and entrepreneurs have raised their hands and said we want to make this effort successful, and we’re willing to put our time and resources behind it. If community support is an indicator of where this program is headed, we literally could not have had a better start.” – Greg Gottesman, Madrona Venture Group

We were also thrilled to see the media and community reaction yesterday when the news broke. We’ve seen more than 500 tweets in the last 24 hours and read stories from great blogs such as Seattle’s TechFlash, TechCrunch, ReadWriteWeb, PEHub, Xconomy, and many more. Thanks to everyone for getting us off to such a great start in Seattle. It appears that the community there is as excited as we are!

Applications for the Seattle program will open in May, but we’re already accepting applications for our Boston program. Applications for Boulder will open in January as well. Please see the schedule for the latest information.