Applications for Techstars Austin are open, said Amos Schwartzfarb, its new managing director.
The Techstars program is accepting applications Sept. 18th through Nov. 18th. The next class kicks off Feb. 15th and runs three months.
Schwartzfarb is looking for ten to 12 companies for this next cohort. They can come from anywhere in the world and be in any industry.
So what exactly is Schwartzfarb looking for in this next class? Business to consumer or business to business companies are encouraged to apply, he said. With the consumer companies, Schwartzfarb wants to see there’s potential for traction.
“If they have a small, active user base and they can show they can grow it,” Schwartzfarb said.
With the business-to-business companies, he’s less worried about the traction. He just wants to see that they are solving a problem that needs to be solved. Or that they are tackling a problem that has already been solved in a manual way and they’re using technology to make it more efficient, he said.
The Techstars accelerator program is highly selective. But the companies that get in receive $20,000 in an equity investment and an option on $100,000 note. They also go through a disciplined program that helps take them to their next milestone, Schwartzfarb said. They also get tapped into an experienced mentor network, he said. And they become members of a tight-knit global accelerator, investor and mentor group, he said.
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