Techstars in Boulder has set up a new venture capital fund to expand its presence in Austin, Texas.
The Boulder-based small business accelerator raised a total of $6.7 million, according to SEC filings on Oct. 19.
The funds will be used for a new accelerator geared toward companies solving social or environmental problems through tech. The newest program, called Techstars Impact Accelerator, is launching in Austin, where the firm has had a presence since 2013.
Techstars said investors in the program included Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s AIP Private Markets Team, Impact America Fund and the CEO of RetailMeNot Inc., Cotter Cunningham, along with other angel investors and charitable foundations.
Zoe Schlag, founder of Austin’s entrepreneur nonprofit UnLtd USA, will be the managing director of the program, and will add her program into Techstars.
“Austin right now sits at this nexus between technology and social innovation,” Schlag said. “Our aim is to bridge those two worlds so we bring maximum resources to those entrepreneurs.”
Examples of startups Schlag has in mind are Zipline, which delivers medical supplies to rural parts of Africa by drone, and Aunt Bertha, an online platform for nonprofits supplying health care, food, shelter and other assistance.
Applications for the accelerator open in December, and the three-month program begins in June 2018. All 10 startups will have access to $120,000 through the program, as well as mentors and offices.
Several Techstars graduates have made waves in Denver this year.
Boulder-based Sitter, a babysitting app, raised $817,000 in March. Corporate healthcare management company Apostrophe raised $1.15 million from 15 investors in May. And tech startup Orderly Health pocketed $150,000 and graduated from another accelerator in Silicon Valley.
Techstars in Boulder has set up a new venture capital fund to expand its presence in Austin, Texas.
The Boulder-based small business accelerator raised a total of $6.7 million, according to SEC filings on Oct. 19.
The funds will be used for a new accelerator geared toward companies solving social or environmental problems through tech. The newest program, called Techstars Impact Accelerator, is launching in Austin, where the firm has had a presence since 2013.
Techstars said investors in the program included Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s AIP Private Markets Team, Impact America Fund and the CEO of RetailMeNot Inc., Cotter Cunningham, along with other angel investors and charitable foundations.
Zoe Schlag, founder of Austin’s entrepreneur nonprofit UnLtd USA, will be the managing director of the program, and will add her program into Techstars.
“Austin right now sits at this nexus between technology and social innovation,” Schlag said. “Our aim is to bridge those two worlds so we bring maximum resources to those entrepreneurs.”
Examples of startups Schlag has in mind are Zipline, which delivers medical supplies to rural parts of Africa by drone, and Aunt Bertha, an online platform for nonprofits supplying health care, food, shelter and other assistance.
Applications for the accelerator open in December, and the three-month program begins in June 2018. All 10 startups will have access to $120,000 through the program, as well as mentors and offices.
Several Techstars graduates have made waves in Denver this year.
Boulder-based Sitter, a babysitting app, raised $817,000 in March. Corporate healthcare management company Apostrophe raised $1.15 million from 15 investors in May. And tech startup Orderly Health pocketed $150,000 and graduated from another accelerator in Silicon Valley.
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