Investor directory

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 RoundSeed RoundArtificial IntelligenceMachine LearningSeries AShow more
http://techstars.com/ventures
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Ethan Austin

MD of the Techstars Western Union Accelerator

Mark Tortorella

Advisor

Nathanial Zola

MD

Past deals in Recruiting

Qualifi

Seed Round in 2022
Qualifi empowers recruiters to find the best candidates faster by enabling on-demand phone interviews. Qualifi’s frictionless screening platform saves both recruiters and candidates time while maintaining a human touch. The best candidates are off the market in 10 days and typical phone interviews have been shown to add 6-8 days to an already long hiring process. With Qualifi, the majority of candidate responses happen on Day 1. Our recruiters scale effectively and win talent with speed.

PitchMe

Seed Round in 2021
PitchMe Limited operates an online recruitment platform that utilizes artificial intelligence to connect candidates with employers. Founded in 2017 and based in London, the company addresses the challenges of identifying candidate capabilities and aligning them with employer needs through a unique Skillsourcing process. This approach involves multilayer profiling of skills and effective matchmaking between job seekers and employers. Additionally, PitchMe offers a professional self-presentation tool called the SmartMe profile, which provides candidates with a comprehensive overview of their knowledge and skills, as well as recommendations for enhancing their employability. The platform also includes online education services in various fields, including JavaScript, Python, social media marketing, application development, product management, digital marketing, and search engine optimization, further supporting candidates in meeting the evolving demands of the job market.

Aleria

Pre Seed Round in 2021
Aleria helps companies improve recruitment strategies, increase employee satisfaction and loyalty, achieve diversity goals and drive business performance. To get started, our Inclusion Assessment can identify the unique opportunities that exist within your organization.

Breakthru

Seed Round in 2021
SportsHi connects student-athletes to colleges and amazing opportunities like scholarships. Our mission is to encourage high school students to play sports by creating a community where all student-athletes can grow. We know the positive impact high school sports can have in the classroom and in your day-to-day life. By creating SportsHi, we want to send more of our youth to higher education.

DevNation

Non Equity Assistance in 2021
DevNation trains under-skilled and under-educated Pakistanis with digital tech skills and connects them with full-time opportunities!

Hollo

Seed Round in 2021
Hollo is a Paris-based company that specializes in developing software solutions for the human resources industry. Founded in 2020, Hollo offers a comprehensive HR platform designed to enhance candidate engagement and streamline the recruiting process. The platform integrates seamlessly with existing applicant tracking systems and customer relationship management tools, enabling companies to create efficiencies and minimize redundancies. Hollo utilizes SMS technology to reconnect with past applicants, ensuring a continuous talent pool and significantly reducing the time required to fill open positions. By leveraging artificial and conversational intelligence, Hollo's software assists HR teams in pre-qualifying candidates and fosters personalized communication, ultimately optimizing the recruitment process for enterprises.

Slingshot Ahead

Funding Round in 2021
75% of startups report their top concern to be finding talent that is highly-skilled, low-investment and easy to discover. Even when they do, they either give away too much equity or pay more than they can afford. We’re the world’s first platform to connect budding startups with vetted, industry-grade high school engineers at 0 equity and lowest costs. As a team of CMU, UCLA, Stanford alums, now at FAANG companies, we aim to change the status-quo of a heavily credential-driven work-force to that of a skill-driven one. In just 8 months, we’ve grown to 20+ countries, 1000+ student applicants, and 25+ startups.

Equipt

Pre Seed Round in 2021
We help fast-growing tech companies attract, recruit, and retain BIPOC talent while building inclusive workplace habits. We do it with online community-based learning experiences.

OpenLoop

Seed Round in 2021
OpenLoop is a health technology company that provides a comprehensive platform aimed at enhancing virtual care services through a turnkey clinician workforce solution. The platform streamlines the process of finding and recruiting healthcare professionals by centralizing a database of providers and their specialties, while also collecting job requirements from various healthcare institutions. This approach facilitates timely notifications to hospitals and recruiters when suitable opportunities become available, effectively addressing staffing shortages in the healthcare sector. By simplifying telehealth operations, OpenLoop supports organizations in scaling their clinical services efficiently.

TalentQL

Pre Seed Round in 2021
TalentQL hires, develops, and manages remote talent for companies globally. Its services include talent outsourcing, talent pipeline creation, and remote workforce management. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

TalentQL

Pre Seed Round in 2021
TalentQL hires, develops, and manages remote talent for companies globally. Its services include talent outsourcing, talent pipeline creation, and remote workforce management. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Immigo

Pre Seed Round in 2021
Immigo platform helps schools in countries like China and Korea source and staff the native English teachers.

Showcase

Pre Seed Round in 2020
Showcase is a web and iOS app allowing scaling teams to discover talent through short videos. People - not resumes - do the selling, and Showcase lets you meet them before you meet them. Candidates use self-recorded video to show off their skills and ability from the get-go. Too many jobseekers and companies get bogged down with resumes and applications when filling a position. Showcase engages the user from the start to create a more genuine experience for everyone. Instead of sterile pedigrees, companies get an intimate look at a diverse pool of quality applicants. Intuitive and easy-to-use, the Showcase iOS app leverages powerful recruitment and curating techniques to provide fast, thorough and real evaluations of candidates. We connect the right jobseeker with the right job in no time flat. Showcase is headquartered in New York, NY. Join us in our mission to have no jobseeker left unseen.

OpenLoop

Pre Seed Round in 2020
OpenLoop is a health technology company that provides a comprehensive platform aimed at enhancing virtual care services through a turnkey clinician workforce solution. The platform streamlines the process of finding and recruiting healthcare professionals by centralizing a database of providers and their specialties, while also collecting job requirements from various healthcare institutions. This approach facilitates timely notifications to hospitals and recruiters when suitable opportunities become available, effectively addressing staffing shortages in the healthcare sector. By simplifying telehealth operations, OpenLoop supports organizations in scaling their clinical services efficiently.

YearOne

Pre Seed Round in 2020
YearOne helps individuals coming out of code schools land incredible jobs and supports them through their early careers in technology companies. Code school graduates are given 6 months of consistent on the job support at amazing companies to ensure their success as entry-level engineers. Companies are given access to a vetted pipeline of highly skilled diverse talent as well as entry-level candidate onboarding resources to increase bandwidth on their engineering teams. Our process helps solve a much-needed problem of increasing access for companies to this highly capable pipeline of career switchers.

Provider Pool

Pre Seed Round in 2020
Provider Pool Co. is an online labor marketplace dedicated to the healthcare sector, founded in 2018 and based in Saint Louis, Missouri. The platform serves as a community for healthcare professionals, connecting them with healthcare organizations through a technology-driven marketplace. It streamlines the processes of hiring, recruiting, and contracting, thus enhancing the efficiency of staffing for healthcare providers. By utilizing advanced matching technology powered by artificial intelligence, Provider Pool effectively pairs hospitals with suitable nursing professionals for both short-term and long-term staffing needs. This approach not only facilitates direct access to local nursing talent but also helps healthcare organizations save time and reduce costs associated with recruitment.

Pangian

Pre Seed Round in 2020
Pangian is re-uniting the continents by providing a digital platform for top global companies of all sizes and a new breed of talented remote candidates to connect.

Recroot

Pre Seed Round in 2020
Recroot speeds up the retail and hospitality hiring process by screening 30-second videos. The company was founded in 2017 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.

Forefront

Pre Seed Round in 2020
Forefront Inc. is a Boston-based company that specializes in helping employers attract qualified talent from underrepresented communities, specifically Black and Latinx college students. Founded in 2015, it focuses on career readiness by providing solutions such as Carmen AI, a personal career assistant that guides Gen-Z through the job search process, including resume preparation and mock interviews. In addition to its technological offerings, Forefront conducts workshops, consulting, and public speaking services aimed at connecting diverse talent with top employers, including Fortune 1000 firms and emerging tech companies. Through these efforts, Forefront aims to create more inclusive hiring practices and support the career development of underrepresented individuals.

Highre

Pre Seed Round in 2020
Highre is an online career fair platform, bringing career opportunities and role models to talent no matter where they are. The company builds a virtual career fair platform where talent and employers can come together and connect without a hassle. Highre is enhancing career fairs and recreating them online in the much cooler and intelligent way. Highre is founded in 2018 and based in London, England.

Qualifi

Pre Seed Round in 2020
Qualifi empowers recruiters to find the best candidates faster by enabling on-demand phone interviews. Qualifi’s frictionless screening platform saves both recruiters and candidates time while maintaining a human touch. The best candidates are off the market in 10 days and typical phone interviews have been shown to add 6-8 days to an already long hiring process. With Qualifi, the majority of candidate responses happen on Day 1. Our recruiters scale effectively and win talent with speed.

MEDIJobs

Seed Round in 2019
MEDIjobs is the fastest growing career marketplace for healthcare professionals. Our mission is to positively impact healthcare industry as a whole by helping doctors and nurses navigate through their careers successfully. We are experts at building digital communities for healthcare professionals and we help them develop professionally through career resources, access to medical events or by matching them with relevant employers who are interested in hiring them. We work with 150+ active customers from EU and US and our offices are in Bucharest, ROMANIA & New York City, NY.

MEDIJobs

Pre Seed Round in 2019
MEDIjobs is the fastest growing career marketplace for healthcare professionals. Our mission is to positively impact healthcare industry as a whole by helping doctors and nurses navigate through their careers successfully. We are experts at building digital communities for healthcare professionals and we help them develop professionally through career resources, access to medical events or by matching them with relevant employers who are interested in hiring them. We work with 150+ active customers from EU and US and our offices are in Bucharest, ROMANIA & New York City, NY.

AdaptiLab

Pre Seed Round in 2019
AdaptiLab is a B2B, SaaS, machine learning, and recruiting company. It accelerates companies' machine learning and data science talent acquisition with ai-driven screening, sourcing, and up-skilling products.

Fintros

Pre Seed Round in 2018
Fintros enables financial services companies to hire people not applying to their jobs. Our proprietary anonymization software liberates the career curious by empowering them to confidentially explore highly targeted professional opportunities. Leveraging our AI recommendation engine, companies are increasing candidate quality, curtailing recruitment costs, and drastically reducing hiring bias.

Locumunity

Seed Round in 2018
Locumunity Solutions Inc. operates a software as a service (SaaS) platform that connects physicians and locum tenens professionals with medical facilities seeking temporary staffing solutions. Established in 2016 and based in Vancouver, Canada, the company offers a unique online community where doctors can actively search for jobs and medical facilities can find qualified locums. Unlike traditional recruitment agencies, Locumunity employs a two-way matching algorithm that facilitates direct connections between job-seeking physicians and clinics or hospitals. This innovative approach allows locums to specify their preferences and availability while enabling medical facilities to efficiently tap into a network of thousands of doctors for locum tenens, telehealth, and permanent positions. By streamlining the hiring process, Locumunity saves time and resources for both healthcare providers and professionals.

Filtered

Convertible Note in 2018
Filtered, LLC is a Boston-based company founded in 2016 that specializes in a technical candidate interview platform designed to enhance the hiring process for engineering positions. The platform employs a blend of engineering interview templates and coding tasks to assess candidates' abilities, focusing on both technical skills and cultural fit. By utilizing artificial intelligence, Filtered aids organizations in identifying, evaluating, and hiring qualified engineers while minimizing unconscious bias. The company offers automated technical screening, customizable interview processes, and advanced data filtering capabilities across web, iOS, and Android platforms. This approach aims to streamline hiring, reduce time-to-fill, and improve the quality of hires while lowering overall recruitment costs.

Filtered

Pre Seed Round in 2018
Filtered, LLC is a Boston-based company founded in 2016 that specializes in a technical candidate interview platform designed to enhance the hiring process for engineering positions. The platform employs a blend of engineering interview templates and coding tasks to assess candidates' abilities, focusing on both technical skills and cultural fit. By utilizing artificial intelligence, Filtered aids organizations in identifying, evaluating, and hiring qualified engineers while minimizing unconscious bias. The company offers automated technical screening, customizable interview processes, and advanced data filtering capabilities across web, iOS, and Android platforms. This approach aims to streamline hiring, reduce time-to-fill, and improve the quality of hires while lowering overall recruitment costs.

Locumunity

Pre Seed Round in 2018
Locumunity Solutions Inc. operates a software as a service (SaaS) platform that connects physicians and locum tenens professionals with medical facilities seeking temporary staffing solutions. Established in 2016 and based in Vancouver, Canada, the company offers a unique online community where doctors can actively search for jobs and medical facilities can find qualified locums. Unlike traditional recruitment agencies, Locumunity employs a two-way matching algorithm that facilitates direct connections between job-seeking physicians and clinics or hospitals. This innovative approach allows locums to specify their preferences and availability while enabling medical facilities to efficiently tap into a network of thousands of doctors for locum tenens, telehealth, and permanent positions. By streamlining the hiring process, Locumunity saves time and resources for both healthcare providers and professionals.

One Model

Seed Round in 2017
OneModel is a talent analytics accelerator for human resources (HR) departments. It enables companies to measure the productivity and efficiency of their workforces. OneModel helps HR departments handle employees, career pathing, recruiting, succession, exits, engagement, surveys, HR effectiveness, payrolls, planning, and others, all in one place. OneModel was launched in November 2014 and is based in Austin, Texas, United States.

TeacherTalent

Convertible Note in 2017
TeacherTalent is a United States-based company that has developed a platform designed to enhance the hiring process for school districts. The platform leverages big data to predict teacher effectiveness, enabling schools to identify and match the most suitable teachers for their needs. Since December 10, 2018, TeacherTalent has operated as a subsidiary of EBQuickstart LLC.

VanHack

Pre Seed Round in 2017
VanHack is simply the fastest way for companies to hire tech talent from the whole world. We have over 100,000 verified developers from 100+ countries signed up and willing to relocate - and VanHack manages the immigration and relocation process for you.

Mainstay

Seed Round in 2016
AdmitHub, Inc. is a Boston-based company that specializes in providing expert admissions guidance through its website and SMS services. The company focuses on helping students communicate directly with college admissions offices and offers assistance in various areas, including college selection, financial aid, standardized tests, and support for first-generation college students. Additionally, AdmitHub has developed a chatbot platform named Oli, which integrates artificial intelligence and human expertise to enhance student enrollment, persistence, and completion at numerous colleges and universities. This platform helps educational institutions streamline repetitive tasks, engage students effectively on a large scale, and gain valuable insights into their admissions processes.

Mainstay

Convertible Note in 2016
AdmitHub, Inc. is a Boston-based company that specializes in providing expert admissions guidance through its website and SMS services. The company focuses on helping students communicate directly with college admissions offices and offers assistance in various areas, including college selection, financial aid, standardized tests, and support for first-generation college students. Additionally, AdmitHub has developed a chatbot platform named Oli, which integrates artificial intelligence and human expertise to enhance student enrollment, persistence, and completion at numerous colleges and universities. This platform helps educational institutions streamline repetitive tasks, engage students effectively on a large scale, and gain valuable insights into their admissions processes.

hackajob

Seed Round in 2015
Hackajob is an online recruitment platform that connects technical candidates with employers through a unique process that emphasizes skill assessments and job-specific challenges. Founded in 2014 and based in London, the platform addresses the challenges of traditional recruitment by utilizing data-driven algorithms to match candidates with suitable positions based on their skills and experience. This approach not only facilitates direct communication between employers and candidates, including passive talent, but also aims to eliminate unconscious bias in hiring. Many well-known companies rely on hackajob to streamline their recruitment processes, reduce time to hire, and enhance candidate engagement, ultimately creating a more efficient and equitable hiring landscape in the tech industry.

Mainstay

Seed Round in 2015
AdmitHub, Inc. is a Boston-based company that specializes in providing expert admissions guidance through its website and SMS services. The company focuses on helping students communicate directly with college admissions offices and offers assistance in various areas, including college selection, financial aid, standardized tests, and support for first-generation college students. Additionally, AdmitHub has developed a chatbot platform named Oli, which integrates artificial intelligence and human expertise to enhance student enrollment, persistence, and completion at numerous colleges and universities. This platform helps educational institutions streamline repetitive tasks, engage students effectively on a large scale, and gain valuable insights into their admissions processes.

One Model

Convertible Note in 2015
OneModel is a talent analytics accelerator for human resources (HR) departments. It enables companies to measure the productivity and efficiency of their workforces. OneModel helps HR departments handle employees, career pathing, recruiting, succession, exits, engagement, surveys, HR effectiveness, payrolls, planning, and others, all in one place. OneModel was launched in November 2014 and is based in Austin, Texas, United States.

WorkBright

Seed Round in 2014
WorkBright is a cloud-based HR software solution for companies with the seasonal, contingent, and high-turnover workforces. It moves the traditionally tedious, paper-heavy process of onboarding a new employee to one that the employee can complete from their phone, tablet, or laptop before their first day of work. Employers can easily stay organized and compliant with an intuitive dashboard to manage their employee files. It was founded in 2014 and headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.

Wellhire

Seed Round in 2014
Wellhire reduces time, cost, and effort to find the right job candidates. Wellhire’s simple tools assess job seeker knowledge, provide social media checks, and clearly compare job candidate knowledge. The company is based in Boulder, Colorado and founded in 2013.

BetterCompany

Seed Round in 2014
At BetterCompany, it is our mission to help companies connect with best candidates at the best time, when they're looking! We use a blend of art and science to match candidates to roles and companies and we understand that timing is everything.

Planted

Seed Round in 2014
Planted Inc. operates a talent community that connects young professionals with junior-level, non-technical roles, and internships at high-growth companies. It focuses on positions in customer service, sales, operations, admin/office management, business development, marketing, recruiting, analytics, and other non-technical functions. Planted Inc. was formerly known as Lynxsy Inc. The company is based in New York, New York.

Cangrade

Pre Seed Round in 2014
Cangrade, Inc. specializes in AI-driven talent management solutions designed to enhance the recruitment, retention, development, and promotion of employees within organizations. Established in 2011 and located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company offers a range of pre-employment services, including assessments and interview guides, which leverage advanced AI technology to provide accurate predictions of candidate suitability. Their pre-hire assessments are designed to be significantly more effective than traditional hiring methods. In addition to pre-employment tools, Cangrade provides post-hire solutions that include measuring workforce engagement, facilitating remote onboarding and upskilling, and assessing employee readiness for promotions and team placements. This comprehensive approach allows organizations to optimize their talent management processes effectively.

Cangrade

Convertible Note in 2014
Cangrade, Inc. specializes in AI-driven talent management solutions designed to enhance the recruitment, retention, development, and promotion of employees within organizations. Established in 2011 and located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company offers a range of pre-employment services, including assessments and interview guides, which leverage advanced AI technology to provide accurate predictions of candidate suitability. Their pre-hire assessments are designed to be significantly more effective than traditional hiring methods. In addition to pre-employment tools, Cangrade provides post-hire solutions that include measuring workforce engagement, facilitating remote onboarding and upskilling, and assessing employee readiness for promotions and team placements. This comprehensive approach allows organizations to optimize their talent management processes effectively.

Ranku

Seed Round in 2013
Ranku offers a recruitment platform using predictive analytics to help colleges increase online degree enrollment. Ranku (pronounced ran-koo) was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in 2016.

Flinja

Seed Round in 2013
Flinja, Inc. operates a recruitment portal designed for students and alumni, facilitating connections between job seekers and employers. Founded in 2012 and based in the United States, Flinja targets the college demographic, providing a marketplace where over 100,000 vetted students and alumni can post services, search for jobs and internships, and build professional networks. The platform allows businesses to efficiently connect with potential hires for various projects, addressing the challenge of high unemployment among recent graduates while ensuring that job vacancies are filled. Through its innovative approach, Flinja enables students to acquire skills and relevant work experience, allowing companies to evaluate emerging talent at a lower cost. The company has received multiple accolades, recognizing its impact in the recruitment landscape.

CoachUp

Seed Round in 2012
CoachUp is a website that connects athletes with private coaches. It provides thousands of vetted private coaches across the country, in everything from basketball, soccer, and football, to fitness, yoga, and dance. The website allows users to search by city and sport to easily find nearby coaches, it offers knowledgeable athlete advisors help, and coaches provide personalized feedback after every session. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts.

GetLikeminds

Seed Round in 2012
GetLikeMinds produces recruitment referral solutions to help companies manage their employee referral programs. It also provides real-time analytic and metric reporting for companies to offer the data they need to make the recruitment decisions. GetLikeMinds offers solutions for startups, agencies, businesses, elites, and enterprises. It was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.