According to Cohen, Boulder desperately needed the help when it came to building out the reach of their entrepreneurs in the community. The only big firm in the area was Mobius VC, but the overall participation from angels was incredibly low. Along the way the TechStars method of accelerating startup communities has become one of the most potent available. Cohen actually announced during his keynote speech that TechStars will be rolling out two new initiatives to stay on top of the market. First, they offer an equity-back guarantee that says a funded company who feels their time in TechStars wasn’t worth it can lower or eliminate TechStars’ equity position in their company. Second, the accelerator recently implemented a quiet program aimed at helping underserved and underrepresented entrepreneurs: RisingStars. All you have to do is reach out to a TechStars mentor or founder, or email Cohen directly about the programs, to learn more. Here’s the video:
