Document: Techstars raising a $400M startup fund
November 28, 2017 | Startland News Staff
Accelerator and investment firm Techstars is working to raise a massive new fund to boost portfolio startups around the world.
Techstars — which operates an accelerator program in Kansas City — is now raising a $400 million fund, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund more than doubles Techstars Ventures’ $150 million fund from 2015. Techstars CEO David Cohen and Techstars partners Mark Solon and Jason Seats are all listed as fund directors, according to the filing.
The $400 million pooled investment fund should allow the venture group to make larger investments in more established ventures. Techstars has helped spark more than 1,100 companies with a collective valuation of more than $10 billion, according to the company’s data.
Based in Boulder, Colorado, Techstars operates 34 accelerators across the globe that help launch more than 300 startups each year. In exchange for 6 percent equity, Techstars startups receive $120,000, participation in the three-month accelerator program, as well as access to a global network of mentors.
In Kansas City, the firm has helped launch 40 ventures through the 2014 – 2016 Sprint Accelerator powered by Techstars and the 2017 Techstars Kansas City classes. Check out Techstars’ latest Kansas City class here.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Kimberly Gandy: Proof a startup can emerge stronger from its founder’s cancer diagnosis
Cancer needn’t mean can’t, Kimberly Gandy said. When the Play-It Health founder and CEO was diagnosed with an aggressive, mid-stage cancer in May 2016, her startup found itself at a crossroads. Gandy had just joined the Kansas City-based Pipeline fellowship and her company was poised for growth through its web- and mobile-based health regimen tracking…
Code Ninjas uses karate format to punch into KC youth STEM scene
Students often want more than their schools can offer, said Jason Hansen, of Code Ninjas. For some, that’s competitive sports teams or specialty athletics, he said. Others yearn for greater STEM-based learning opportunities — like those offered at Hansen’s Leawood center. “It’s just like you might have a dance studio, or a baseball academy,” Hansen…
Landlocked, Marknology startups ‘killing it on Amazon,’ KC founder says
Landlocked is a brand many Kansas Citians recognize on sight, founder Andrew Morgans said. Marknology is the behind-the-scenes engine that sells it. While his dual companies — an apparel startup known for its popular hybrid pennant tee and a bootstrapped digital marketing firm specializing in Amazon sales — complement one another, the pairing is an…
Lula raises $420K, fueling expansion of home service offerings
A $420,000 funding round from Kansas City area investors will accelerate tech startup Lula to expand in Kansas City and soon two more large metros, CEO and founder Bo Lais said. The Overland Park-based firm is eyeing Phoenix and Dallas as its next service areas, but it first plans to focus on marketing its on-demand…