Techstars

Techstars Central LLC, founded in 2006 and based in Boulder, Colorado, operates as a startup accelerator and venture capital firm focused on supporting early-stage technology-oriented companies. It specializes in a mentorship-driven accelerator program, selecting ten startups each summer to participate in a three-month incubation period, offering funding of $120,000 in exchange for equity. Techstars invests primarily in sectors such as fintech, artificial intelligence, blockchain, augmented reality, and IoT, while avoiding investments in medical devices, healthcare technology, and local service-oriented businesses. In addition to its primary accelerator, Techstars has various specialized programs, including those focused on music, retail, mobility, and social impact, with global reach extending to regions such as Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The firm prefers taking minority stakes, typically between six and ten percent, without seeking board representation or investor rights. Techstars has built a robust network of entrepreneurs, mentors, and corporate partners to foster innovation and growth within its portfolio, which includes over 1,000 companies with a significant collective market capitalization.

Ethan Austin

MD of the Techstars Western Union Accelerator

Max Kelly

Managing Director of Techstars London

Lesa Mitchell

Managing Director

Vijay Tirathrai

Managing Director

Mark Tortorella

Advisor

Nathanial Zola

MD

Past deals in Louisiana

RentCheck

Seed Round in 2021
RentCheck Holdings, Inc. is a New Orleans-based company that offers a mobile application designed to standardize the move-in and move-out inspection process for landlords and tenants. Founded in 2018, RentCheck provides property management solutions that facilitate various types of inspections, including move-in, move-out, annual, and periodic assessments. The application aims to enhance transparency and security in the rental process, allowing both landlords and residents to save time and money while simplifying the security deposit deduction process. By empowering tenants to take an active role in managing their security deposits, RentCheck fosters a more equitable and efficient rental experience.

Pass It Down

Funding Round in 2021
Pass It Down is a web and mobile app that allows users to record, share, and preserve family stories in video, audio, text, and photos. It is a digital storytelling platform that allows users to capture their life stories and share those with friends, family, and the world. Using their phone, tablet, or computer, the user can ask and answer questions provided by oral historians to capture family stories. Stories can be captured in video, audio, text, and photos and then shared publicly, with friends and family, or kept privately like a journal.

hampr

Seed Round in 2021
hampr is an on-demand, magical (trust us on this one) laundry service that will pick up your laundry and return it fresh and folded, right to your front door next day. And did we mention that our flat-rate, no-nonsense pricing is based per load, not pounds — making it easier than ever for your laundry to go from piled to put-up in no time.

ISeeChange

Pre Seed Round in 2020
iSeeChange is empowering communities to observe how weather and climate affect their environment. They strive to connect the public with national media & scientists to understand how climate change is impacting their daily lives.

RentCheck

Pre Seed Round in 2019
RentCheck Holdings, Inc. is a New Orleans-based company that offers a mobile application designed to standardize the move-in and move-out inspection process for landlords and tenants. Founded in 2018, RentCheck provides property management solutions that facilitate various types of inspections, including move-in, move-out, annual, and periodic assessments. The application aims to enhance transparency and security in the rental process, allowing both landlords and residents to save time and money while simplifying the security deposit deduction process. By empowering tenants to take an active role in managing their security deposits, RentCheck fosters a more equitable and efficient rental experience.

Athena

Pre Seed Round in 2019
As a mom with a young child over 20 years ago, Simone had a child support collection problem. She learned how to navigate the system and collect her money, making herself her own first customer. After her success, she started helping other moms at her home at her kitchen table, and eventually, she opened a bricks and mortar on a busy street in a store-front and operated it for many years. She has taken her years of experience and packaged it into a tech platform to help women collect the back child support they are entitled to.

Pass It Down

Pre Seed Round in 2019
Pass It Down is a web and mobile app that allows users to record, share, and preserve family stories in video, audio, text, and photos. It is a digital storytelling platform that allows users to capture their life stories and share those with friends, family, and the world. Using their phone, tablet, or computer, the user can ask and answer questions provided by oral historians to capture family stories. Stories can be captured in video, audio, text, and photos and then shared publicly, with friends and family, or kept privately like a journal.