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
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 Retail Lending

Oper

Series A in 2022
Oper Credits is a software as a service company that provides a comprehensive solution for lenders to digitize mortgage processes from initiation to completion. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium, with an additional office in Zurich, Switzerland, Oper streamlines various aspects of the mortgage journey, including loan requests, customer verification, proof validation, product advisory, signing, profiling, collateral estimation, fraud detection, and scoring. By offering out-of-the-box modules, Oper enables credit providers to quickly launch digital credit products, allowing them to configure their processes to meet specific needs. Furthermore, the company supports the integration of Fintech technologies through its partner app store, enhancing the capabilities of its clients in the competitive mortgage market.

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.

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.

SoLo Funds

Series A in 2021
SoLo Funds, Inc. is a mobile money exchange and lending platform that connects lenders and borrowers, allowing users to borrow on their own terms and lenders to benefit from their contributions. Established in 2015 and based in New York City, SoLo Funds operates as an alternative financial solution, offering rapid loan options to borrowers while providing lenders with significant value. The platform has evolved from a unique lending marketplace into a comprehensive community banking solution that leverages individual capital, insurance, and banking products, supported by advanced A.I. underwriting technology.

Oper

Seed Round in 2021
Oper Credits is a software as a service company that provides a comprehensive solution for lenders to digitize mortgage processes from initiation to completion. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium, with an additional office in Zurich, Switzerland, Oper streamlines various aspects of the mortgage journey, including loan requests, customer verification, proof validation, product advisory, signing, profiling, collateral estimation, fraud detection, and scoring. By offering out-of-the-box modules, Oper enables credit providers to quickly launch digital credit products, allowing them to configure their processes to meet specific needs. Furthermore, the company supports the integration of Fintech technologies through its partner app store, enhancing the capabilities of its clients in the competitive mortgage market.

Own Up

Series B in 2021
Own Up, operating under Rategravity, Inc., offers a software platform designed to assist homebuyers in financing their homes. Founded in 2015 and based in Boston, Massachusetts, the company provides a solution that eliminates the need for salespeople, allowing users to compare, select, and finalize their mortgage options directly with lenders. The platform caters to a variety of property types, including primary residences, second homes, investment properties, single-family homes, multi-family homes, condos, and townhomes. By streamlining the lending process, Own Up aims to facilitate easier access to low-interest mortgages for consumers.

Own Up

Series B in 2021
Own Up, operating under Rategravity, Inc., offers a software platform designed to assist homebuyers in financing their homes. Founded in 2015 and based in Boston, Massachusetts, the company provides a solution that eliminates the need for salespeople, allowing users to compare, select, and finalize their mortgage options directly with lenders. The platform caters to a variety of property types, including primary residences, second homes, investment properties, single-family homes, multi-family homes, condos, and townhomes. By streamlining the lending process, Own Up aims to facilitate easier access to low-interest mortgages for consumers.

Livo

Pre Seed Round in 2021
Livo platform called LivoSecure maximizes rental yields by leveraging technology to allow renters to make offers in real-time based on rental amount, move-in date, and term of the lease.

Beem

Pre Seed Round in 2020
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.

Oper

Pre Seed Round in 2020
Oper Credits is a software as a service company that provides a comprehensive solution for lenders to digitize mortgage processes from initiation to completion. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium, with an additional office in Zurich, Switzerland, Oper streamlines various aspects of the mortgage journey, including loan requests, customer verification, proof validation, product advisory, signing, profiling, collateral estimation, fraud detection, and scoring. By offering out-of-the-box modules, Oper enables credit providers to quickly launch digital credit products, allowing them to configure their processes to meet specific needs. Furthermore, the company supports the integration of Fintech technologies through its partner app store, enhancing the capabilities of its clients in the competitive mortgage market.

MR Presta

Pre Seed Round in 2019
MR Presta LLC is a financial technology company headquartered in San Pedro Garza García, Mexico, with additional operations in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The company specializes in providing financing solutions to retailers selling products on e-commerce platforms. It has developed an end-to-end lending platform aimed at promoting funding for small businesses in emerging markets. By utilizing in-house lending technology and partnering with various platforms, MR Presta facilitates access to capital for retailers that may lack the resources to establish their own lending units. The platform leverages both public and private APIs to gather data for underwriting, enabling businesses to effectively analyze and evaluate their financial performance.

Maxwell Financial Labs

Venture Round in 2018
Hi, we're Maxwell. We’re on a mission to revolutionize the $8.5T residential mortgage market by reimagining how mortgage lenders collaborate with homebuyers and real estate agents to buy a home. We connect our hundreds of lenders onto one seamless, intuitively-designed platform, so the focus isn’t the paperwork, it’s the place to call home. Today, hundreds of lenders across the United States use Maxwell’s digital mortgage platform to originate billions in mortgage loans each month at a cycle time 45 percent faster than the national average.

A Retail Space

Pre Seed Round in 2018
A Retail Space, Inc. owns and operates an online platform that allows users to find the location for their business through data. The company is based in New York, New York.

SoLo Funds

Pre Seed Round in 2018
SoLo Funds, Inc. is a mobile money exchange and lending platform that connects lenders and borrowers, allowing users to borrow on their own terms and lenders to benefit from their contributions. Established in 2015 and based in New York City, SoLo Funds operates as an alternative financial solution, offering rapid loan options to borrowers while providing lenders with significant value. The platform has evolved from a unique lending marketplace into a comprehensive community banking solution that leverages individual capital, insurance, and banking products, supported by advanced A.I. underwriting technology.

Morty

Seed Round in 2017
Morty is on a mission to revolutionize the outdated mortgage industry by letting people shop, compare, and close on any mortgage from any lender, completely online. Purchasing a home is the largest, most important financial transaction of most people’s lives. They believe getting a mortgage should be just as simple, modern, and transparent as buying anything else online. We’re building the first-ever, fully digital marketplace to make this possible - like Kayak, but for mortgages.

LendTech

Seed Round in 2017
LendTech LLC operates a digital lending platform designed to facilitate connections between banks, credit unions, and private lenders with borrowers. Founded in 2016 and based in San Francisco, California, the platform streamlines loan application processing by integrating communication channels for signatures, document submissions, and real-time messaging. It supports both automated and manual loan origination systems, allowing lenders to offer a diverse range of loan products, including credit cards, home equity lines of credit, commercial real estate loans, Small Business Administration loans, bridge loans, auto loans, mortgages, and equipment financing. LendTech aims to enhance the efficiency and accessibility of the borrowing process for both lenders and their clients.

Own Up

Seed Round in 2017
Own Up, operating under Rategravity, Inc., offers a software platform designed to assist homebuyers in financing their homes. Founded in 2015 and based in Boston, Massachusetts, the company provides a solution that eliminates the need for salespeople, allowing users to compare, select, and finalize their mortgage options directly with lenders. The platform caters to a variety of property types, including primary residences, second homes, investment properties, single-family homes, multi-family homes, condos, and townhomes. By streamlining the lending process, Own Up aims to facilitate easier access to low-interest mortgages for consumers.

Maxwell Financial Labs

Seed Round in 2016
Hi, we're Maxwell. We’re on a mission to revolutionize the $8.5T residential mortgage market by reimagining how mortgage lenders collaborate with homebuyers and real estate agents to buy a home. We connect our hundreds of lenders onto one seamless, intuitively-designed platform, so the focus isn’t the paperwork, it’s the place to call home. Today, hundreds of lenders across the United States use Maxwell’s digital mortgage platform to originate billions in mortgage loans each month at a cycle time 45 percent faster than the national average.

StackSource

Seed Round in 2016
StackSource Inc. operates an online platform that connects borrowers and property owners with lenders for commercial real estate loans. Established in 2015 and based in New York, the platform streamlines the financing process by allowing property owners to find suitable lenders, while enabling mortgage brokers and debt teams to manage and track their deals efficiently. StackSource provides access to a diverse network of capital providers, including banks, insurance companies, and private lenders, facilitating better financing options for real estate investors. By combining technology with traditional commercial mortgage brokerage services, StackSource aims to enhance transparency and efficiency in the capital markets for commercial real estate investments.

Morty

Seed Round in 2016
Morty is on a mission to revolutionize the outdated mortgage industry by letting people shop, compare, and close on any mortgage from any lender, completely online. Purchasing a home is the largest, most important financial transaction of most people’s lives. They believe getting a mortgage should be just as simple, modern, and transparent as buying anything else online. We’re building the first-ever, fully digital marketplace to make this possible - like Kayak, but for mortgages.

Social Lender

Seed Round in 2016
Social Lender is a lending solution based on social reputation on mobile, online and social media platforms.

Wisor.io

Seed Round in 2016
Wisor is the next best practice for mortgage lenders, changing the way mortgages are offered and managed. They enable lenders to acquire new customers and retain existing borrowers in a highly efficient way. Wisor's white label solution utilizes structured and unstructured data to enable mortgage officers to create personalized tailored loans that adjust to borrowers lifestyle. Wisor reduces borrowers cost and risks without affecting lenders profitability.

Maxwell Financial Labs

Pre Seed Round in 2016
Hi, we're Maxwell. We’re on a mission to revolutionize the $8.5T residential mortgage market by reimagining how mortgage lenders collaborate with homebuyers and real estate agents to buy a home. We connect our hundreds of lenders onto one seamless, intuitively-designed platform, so the focus isn’t the paperwork, it’s the place to call home. Today, hundreds of lenders across the United States use Maxwell’s digital mortgage platform to originate billions in mortgage loans each month at a cycle time 45 percent faster than the national average.