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.

Focus

Pre Seed Round Seed Round Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Series A Show more

http://techstars.com/ventures

https://crunchbase.com/organization/techstars

https://facebook.com/techstars

https://linkedin.com/company/techstars

https://twitter.com/techstars

https://www.capitaliq.com/CIQDotNet/company.aspx?companyId=431767203

https://www.privateequityinternational.com/database/#/profile?id=14977

Ethan Austin

MD of the Techstars Western Union Accelerator

Mark Tortorella

Advisor

Nathanial Zola

MD

Past deals in Credit Bureau

Beem

Seed Round in 2022

Line Financial is a Public Benefit Corporation that delivers revolving lines of credit on its app as well as at online and in-store essential shopping destinations like pharmacies, grocery stores and more without credit-history, pay-slips, or credit-scores. Line is eliminating FICO, Credit and all other types of cards that don't belong in a post COVID world.

Periculum

Pre Seed Round in 2021

Periculum is an alternate credit rating solution for underserved markets, and their vision is to unlock credit for the developing world to accelerate economic empowerment. They provide lenders and financial institutions across Africa with a machine learning, alternate credit assessment solution. Their machine learning model has an 80% default prediction accuracy, better than FICO, Equifax, and Trans Union. Periculum is going to become an Africa-wide credit bureau, providing credit profiles to people and companies across the continent.

Linxe

Pre Seed Round in 2021

Linxe's vision is to build a truly inclusive financial services platform, one that generates credit history and provides an entry point for unbanked individuals that are too commonly overlooked by large institutional banks in Colombia and Latin America more broadly.

BuckUp

Non Equity Assistance in 2021

BuckUp a short-term loan service that uses customers’ devices as collateral.

Beem

Pre Seed Round in 2020

Curu

Seed Round in 2020

Curu, Inc. develops software for automated credit building. It offers Curu that analyzes the data from applicant’s credit report, transactions, and statement history to create a tailored action plan for approval based on their financial lifestyle. The company’s Curu enables lenders to fund more qualified accounts; and enables applicants to analyze credit spending, debit balances, income level, and other factors to identify the actions to raise credit score. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in Denver, Colorado.

Spyn Pay

Pre Seed Round in 2020

Spyn Pay, Inc. is a fintech startup based in Arlington, Virginia, founded in 2019. The company aims to transform the credit card industry by providing a unique credit card that helps users manage their finances effectively and avoid debt. Its innovative product automatically pays bills after each purchase, allowing customers to maintain better control over their spending. By enabling more frequent bill payments, Spyn Pay empowers individuals to have a clearer understanding of their financial situation, distinguishing it from traditional payment systems.

TomoCredit

Seed Round in 2019

TomoCredit LLC, established in 2018 and based in San Francisco, California, focuses on providing innovative credit solutions tailored for Millennials, particularly those with no credit history or credit score. The company manufactures electronic smart and credit cards that enable users to build credit and qualify for loans by utilizing a proprietary algorithm to analyze alternative data sources. In addition to its credit card offerings, TomoCredit has developed a mobile application that allows users to manage their accounts effectively. The founding team, composed of immigrant founders, aims to address the challenges faced by foreign nationals in accessing credit, drawing on their backgrounds from notable institutions such as Coinbase, The Kenetic Hedge Fund, and Google, as well as prestigious educational establishments like MIT and UC Berkeley.

R3 Score

Pre Seed Round in 2019

R3 Score is a more nuanced alternative to the traditional background check, providing businesses with a more accurate way to assess the potential riskiness of applicants with a criminal record and helping to remove barriers to economic opportunity for individuals with a criminal record.

Curu

Pre Seed Round in 2019

Kred

Pre Seed Round in 2019

Kred, Inc is a digital banking platform that caters to cooperatives and lending institutions, offering a range of banking, lending, and payment solutions. Founded in 2019 and based in Ernakulam, Kerala, India, the company specializes in providing modern financial services through its neobank-as-a-service model. Its offerings include core banking systems, card issuing platforms, cash management solutions, and API banking. Kred's platform is designed to enhance the customer experience and reduce operational costs for credit unions and progressive lending institutions. Key features include modules for lending, collecting, and reconciling, as well as payment solutions encompassing mobile and card payments. Additionally, Kred provides cooperative software that includes automated accounting and digital payment solutions, facilitating efficient operations for its clients.

Curu

Seed Round in 2018

Voyc

Pre Seed Round in 2018

Voyc monitors contact centre calls to identify potential risks, improve agent performance and ultimately ensure companies and their customers are treated fairly.

Discover Dollar

Pre Seed Round in 2018

Discover Dollar helps retailers to detect overpayment issues by analyzing various data sources including emails & contracts in real-time and resolve them in click of button.

Nimbla

Seed Round in 2018

Nimbla provides B2B invoice insurance to small and medium-sized businesses in the United Kingdom. The London fintech company, through their unique technology, allows them to instantly review the credit rating of their invoices and insure them individually, paying out in the event of insolvency.

Self Financial

Seed Round in 2015

Self Financial is a venture-backed fintech startup that helps customers build credit and save money. It provides tools necessary for building on-time payment history and responsible use of credit, in collaboration with issuing banks.s services are for those who are new to credit or who might not have access to traditional financial products. It offers Self Credit Builder Account to help consumers build both credit and savings without relying on credit history and Self Visa Credit Card, a card that helps existing customers build their security deposit in instalments. Self Financial is formerly known as Self Lender. The startup was founded by Conor Swanson and James Garvey in 2015 and is based in Austin, Texas.

Final

Seed Round in 2014

Final, Inc. is a fintech company based in Oakland, California, founded in 2014. It focuses on enhancing consumer protection against fraud and theft through its innovative credit card and mobile application. The service allows users to generate multiple credit card numbers, including disposable ones for single-use purchases, thus providing a secure way to engage with various merchants. Users gain insights into their transactions and spending habits while minimizing the risks associated with account breaches and card cancellations. Final aims to empower consumers by offering greater control over their financial interactions, effectively reducing the potential for financial fraud. The company has received venture backing and participated in the Y Combinator accelerator program in 2015.

Aire

Seed Round in 2014

Aire provides credit assessment services that gives people a new credit score to help them qualify for essential financial products. Aire is committed to helping people with the world of credit. They work with financial institutions by enhancing their ability to reach more customers and serve them responsibly. They are authorised & regulated in the UK by the FCA to provide credit references as one of the newest entrants in this sector. The company was founded on 2014 and based in London.

BeehiveID

Seed Round in 2013

BeehiveID is like Carfax for people - they identify bad actors online before they have a chance to commit fraud. They look at data created when people use the internet and find the interconnected patterns that real people have that fraudulent accounts do not. Conventional wisdom has shown that a person’s social networks build & enhance trust when interacting with others. Inspired by the time-tested and insightful approach to trusted interactions, BeehiveID’s proprietary Social Authentication Technology™ (SAT) uses sophisticated algorithms to understand how individuals connect with each other online and the unique digital patterns these online social interactions generate. Combining SAT™ with traditional anti-fraud detection approaches such as IP detection, Geo-location, Browser fingerprinting, BeehiveID has created a compelling digital identity verification solution.

Boxella

Seed Round in 2013

Boxella helps consumers track important information and alerts about their big-ticket purchases throughout the lifecycle of those products.

BeehiveID

Non Equity Assistance in 2013

FeeFighters

Seed Round in 2010

FeeFighters operates an online marketplace that simplifies the selection of credit card processing services for business owners. By allowing merchants to compare and choose from multiple bids in a reverse auction format, FeeFighters enables users to secure the best deals, often resulting in savings of approximately 40 percent on processing fees. Additionally, the company offers free tools, including a credit card processing calculator, to assist businesses in making informed financial decisions. This approach streamlines the process of finding a suitable merchant account provider, making it as straightforward as booking a flight online.

Global Debt Network

Seed Round in 2009

Global Debt Network specializes in the development of a platform that helps users manage their debt. It has its headquarters in Los Angeles in California.