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 Tennessee

Rootine

Series A in 2022
Rootine is a precision nutrition platform that utilizes evidence-based technology to analyze biometric and lifestyle data, providing personalized nutrition recommendations. The company's approach focuses on connecting various health data points to improve individual health outcomes. By leveraging patient data, Rootine crafts tailored vitamin regimens that adapt to the unique biological needs of each person. Its artificial intelligence system continuously refines these recommendations and nutrient formulas as users' bodies change, ensuring that individuals receive optimized support for their health goals. This personalized approach aims to empower clients to make informed health decisions based on real-time data and ongoing progress tracking.

Please Assist Me

Seed Round in 2020
Please Assist Me, Inc. operates as a home management company that partners with apartment complexes to provide living experience for residents in in Nashville, Tennessee and Washington, District Of Columbia. It provides services in the areas of groceries, dry cleaning and laundry, alterations and shoe care, mail and packages, and special requests. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is based in Nashville, Tennessee.

BOS Framework

Pre Seed Round in 2020
BOS Framework, Inc. specializes in designing and developing custom software applications tailored for businesses. Founded in 2017 and located in Nashville, Tennessee, the company focuses on providing services such as product rebuilds, product integrations, digital transformation, and greenfield solutions. Additionally, BOS offers a microservices and DevSecOps automation platform that facilitates the modernization and security of business ecosystems, allowing organizations to enhance their operational efficiency and adaptability in an evolving technological landscape.

Fathom PBC

Non Equity Assistance in 2019
Fathom, a social enterprise, is preparing young people for the modern economy by investing in youth-led innovation towards thriving local communities. We believe in order to address the challenges of the 21st Century, young people must have the agency to create and navigate opportunities to become leaders of sustainable and equitable communities, companies and commodities. Our MVP, Change Agents, is a project-based program for students, recent graduates and employees to develop necessary skills for work life success. Change Agents challenges young adults to explore their passions and interests, identify community issues they care about and leverage entrepreneurial problem solving to discover unique paths to meaningful careers and social wellness.

Mobius

Pre Seed Round in 2019
Mobius provides environmental solutions that convert waste streams into chemicals and materials. At Mobius, we're creating a world where There’s Wonder in Waste. We’re a mission-driven company focused on eliminating waste by leveraging industrial organic waste streams from agriculture, forestry, paper and biofuel & biorefining industries to create new materials and chemicals. Our first product is a proprietary, biodegradable polymer made from lignin, a natural material found in all grasses and trees that is produced as waste at a rate of over 50 million tons each year by the paper and biofuel industries. With this biopolymer, we are creating a bio-based, biodegradable plastic pellets for applications in horticulture, agriculture, food service packaging, and beyond.

Zeno Power

Pre Seed Round in 2019
They are developing a next-generation radioisotope power system that converts the heat from recycled nuclear waste into electricity.Their novel fuel and shielding design results in a system that is lightweight, cost-effective, and provides always-on, resilient power for years at a time.

Leaf

Pre Seed Round in 2019
Leaf offers virtual banking services to vulnerable populations crossing borders. By connecting people to their own savings conveniently and affordably, Leaf intervenes in the system that forces people to lose access to everything they’ve earned. Leaf stores and transports assets across borders through a mobile device—no smartphone required. Refugees and migrants can journey without cash, knowing accounts are safe and accessible globally. Friends and family abroad can contribute into the Leaf customer’s account. Leaf protects customers’ savings through blockchain technology without exposure to cryptocurrency. With Leaf, customers build the foundation for an economic identity complete with biometrics, transactions, and savings history

Project Admission

Pre Seed Round in 2019
Project Admission, Inc. operates an online platform dedicated to the purchase, sale, and distribution of digital tickets. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, the company aims to enhance the ticketing experience by providing tools for tracking the ownership history of tickets. This feature not only facilitates better management of ticket transactions but also opens avenues for increased revenue and marketing opportunities. By expanding the distribution of tickets and creating a comprehensive interest graph that extends beyond just event attendees, Project Admission seeks to leverage data collection to improve overall engagement within the ticketing ecosystem.

Woorly, LLC

Pre Seed Round in 2019
Woorly is a mobile and socially integrated platform for tracking and rewarding word-of-mouth recommendations and referrals. There are many industries that rely on a steady stream of new business opportunities from referrals, but there is no single easy-to-use platform to aggregate these opportunities. A simple and understandable platform has been created by Woorly to capture these opportunities, track their progress through the sales cycle, and determine their long-term value to the business.

CPRWrap, Inc

Pre Seed Round in 2019
CPRWrap is the first and most innovative, simple-to-use product to come out to address the problem of decreased intervention from the non-medical responder. It’s small size, portability, and instructive features allow ANYONE, trained or untrained, to perform CPR until EMS arrives. The Step-by-Step instructions and integrated protective covering allows any bystander to confidently give life-saving compressions and breaths without fear of contamination from fluid or drug residue.

otto-js

Seed Round in 2018
otto by DEVCON develops advanced runtime application security software aimed at enhancing internet safety and simplifying security measures for businesses. The software is designed to help organizations quickly secure their digital environments with minimal coding required, integrating seamlessly with major content delivery networks, cloud marketplaces, and content management systems. By providing real-time intelligence on security vulnerabilities and dynamic threats, otto protects brand integrity and customer data from various cyber risks, including client-side attacks and data breaches. Additionally, the platform offers automated tools for monitoring and mitigating risks associated with third-party scripts and outdated libraries. With a commitment to democratizing cybersecurity, otto provides a Chrome extension that alerts users to potential threats while gathering crowd-sourced threat intelligence. This continuous feed of information enhances the software's capabilities, fostering a self-healing technology that adapts to emerging threats. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, DEVCON is dedicated to safeguarding consumers and businesses alike from the growing landscape of cyber threats.

AVVAY

Pre Seed Round in 2018
AVVAY is a social marketplace that enables people to discover and book locations for creative projects and events. It is a developer of a space booking platform designed to empower artists and enrich the creative community. The company offers direct booking options or through location scouting teams that enable users to seamlessly focus on their work. AVVAY was established in 2016 and is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee.

Rootine

Convertible Note in 2018
Rootine is a precision nutrition platform that utilizes evidence-based technology to analyze biometric and lifestyle data, providing personalized nutrition recommendations. The company's approach focuses on connecting various health data points to improve individual health outcomes. By leveraging patient data, Rootine crafts tailored vitamin regimens that adapt to the unique biological needs of each person. Its artificial intelligence system continuously refines these recommendations and nutrient formulas as users' bodies change, ensuring that individuals receive optimized support for their health goals. This personalized approach aims to empower clients to make informed health decisions based on real-time data and ongoing progress tracking.

Rapid RMS

Convertible Note in 2017
Rapid RMS provides point of sale applications. It develops Rapid RMS, a cloud-based iPad point-of-sale system for liquor and convenience stores. The company also sells hardware, including receipt printers, cash drawers, bar code scanners, and keyboards; and offers credit card processing and support services. The company is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Collider

Seed Round in 2017
Collider, Inc. designs and manufactures printers, under the name Orchid. Its product has applications in creation of silicones, rubber, plastics, and metal stands. Collider, Inc. was founded in 2015 and is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

HealthcareTTU

Seed Round in 2017
Forecasting cash-flows and valuing healthcare accounts receivables (A/R) is difficult. Hospital reimbursement is constantly challenged by politics, budget cycles, managed care, and demographic swings. These uncertainties cause finance teams to spend significant resources manually forecasting value, utilizing a blend of art and science, which produces considerable variability in accuracy. When banks finance hospitals they too rely on manually obtained, sample-based, aged and imperfect information, which results in significant hedging against unknown risk. There is an easier way. HealthcareTTU is an award-winning, healthcare focused fin-tech, that provides automated and hyper-accurate predictive analytics for hospital A/R valuation and cash flow forecasting. Our solution was created in concert with our health system business partners. Together we have proven there is remarkable predictability in healthcare cash flows that may be more efficiently utilized. By leveraging a complete and transparent distributed ledger technology HealthcareTTU provides hospitals with hyper-accurate cash flow forecasts and near real-time A/R valuations. Hospitals may use this information to streamline their own financial reporting. In turn, this information may be used with the banking partners of their choice to enable more effective financial relationships for both parties.

Spoken

Seed Round in 2016
Spoken, Inc. develops Spoken, a mobile messaging application that connects users to native English speaking coaches for business English lessons. Its Spoken application enables users to schedule a lesson anytime; take lessons at their own pace and start and stop whenever required; and connect with a coach to help with their exercises and answer their questions. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Bellhop

Series A in 2014
Bellhops, Inc. is a rapidly growing moving services company based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, founded in 2013. It specializes in providing loading and unloading services for trucks, trailers, storage units, and mobile storage containers, as well as heavy lifting services. Bellhops connects college students with individuals and businesses in need of moving assistance through its user-friendly online platform and mobile application. The company caters to small and medium-scale moves and operates in 55 cities across the United States, with plans for further expansion. By leveraging technology, Bellhops aims to enhance customer experiences and offer competitive pricing compared to traditional moving services in the $18 billion industry.

Bellhop

Angel Round in 2014
Bellhops, Inc. is a rapidly growing moving services company based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, founded in 2013. It specializes in providing loading and unloading services for trucks, trailers, storage units, and mobile storage containers, as well as heavy lifting services. Bellhops connects college students with individuals and businesses in need of moving assistance through its user-friendly online platform and mobile application. The company caters to small and medium-scale moves and operates in 55 cities across the United States, with plans for further expansion. By leveraging technology, Bellhops aims to enhance customer experiences and offer competitive pricing compared to traditional moving services in the $18 billion industry.

LawnStarter

Convertible Note in 2014
LawnStarter, Inc. is an online marketplace that connects consumers with lawn care professionals to provide a variety of lawn maintenance services. Founded in 2013 and based in Austin, Texas, the company offers essential services such as mowing, edging, and blowing, as well as specialty services like fertilization, aeration, over seeding, and leaf removal. LawnStarter facilitates instant quotes for consumers, allowing them to easily schedule lawn care services from insured professionals. The company's innovative algorithms utilize geolocation data to optimize route density for lawn care providers, enhancing their efficiency and profitability. LawnStarter operates in multiple states, including Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

LawnStarter

Pre Seed Round in 2014
LawnStarter, Inc. is an online marketplace that connects consumers with lawn care professionals to provide a variety of lawn maintenance services. Founded in 2013 and based in Austin, Texas, the company offers essential services such as mowing, edging, and blowing, as well as specialty services like fertilization, aeration, over seeding, and leaf removal. LawnStarter facilitates instant quotes for consumers, allowing them to easily schedule lawn care services from insured professionals. The company's innovative algorithms utilize geolocation data to optimize route density for lawn care providers, enhancing their efficiency and profitability. LawnStarter operates in multiple states, including Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

GameWisp

Seed Round in 2014
GameWisp, Inc. operates an interaction, viewing, and monetization platform for live streamers and gaming YouTubers. Its GameWisp platform allows gaming YouTubers and streamers to offer a monthly subscription service to fans in exchange for benefits, content, and interaction, as well as to take subscriptions; manage subscription benefits; and communicate with fans and subscribers. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Bellhop

Seed Round in 2012
Bellhops, Inc. is a rapidly growing moving services company based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, founded in 2013. It specializes in providing loading and unloading services for trucks, trailers, storage units, and mobile storage containers, as well as heavy lifting services. Bellhops connects college students with individuals and businesses in need of moving assistance through its user-friendly online platform and mobile application. The company caters to small and medium-scale moves and operates in 55 cities across the United States, with plans for further expansion. By leveraging technology, Bellhops aims to enhance customer experiences and offer competitive pricing compared to traditional moving services in the $18 billion industry.