Why invest in TechStars class of 2011?

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“Tada!” Eleven-year-old Jude Sack, son of TechStars leader Andy Sack, swept his arms with a flourish.  It’s the halftime break between TechStars demo day presentations. A rope “magically” bisects young Jude’s middle, leaving the audience delighted and applauding. It was a decent metaphor for TechStars 2011.  When I first met them, Andy’s proteges were young… Read More…

Video: Some of the top pitches from TechStars Seattle Demo Day

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What makes a good startup pitch? Of course, it is a presentation that offers insights into the product, the team and the business. But a really good pitch goes much further than that. I like pitches that offer a little personality and flavor, surprising with something I haven’t seen before. Humor is always a good… Read More…

Book smarts vs. street smarts: Which makes the best startup entrepreneurs? (Infographic)

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Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard to start their respective companies, relying on their enormous intellect and technology experience to change the world. But Sergey Brin and Jerry Yang both received advanced degrees at Stanford, and things turned out pretty well for them. So, what’s an entrepreneur to do? Bypass the educational… Read More…

Demo Day: Advice from ‘The Godfathers’ of Seattle tech (Video)

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A few weeks ago, Andy Sack and other members of TechStars made a plea to the entrepreneurial titans of Seattle to attend Demo Day, the investment pitch session in which 10 startup companies from the incubator strut their stuff. It was a bold attempt to get the likes of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and other so-called… Read More…

My five favorite pitches from the TechStars Seattle Demo Day

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TechStars Seattle today concluded their three-month long startup bootcamp as 10 companies presented their business ideas to a packed crowd at the Showbox Sodo in Seattle. It’s been a long, hard voyage for each of the companies, starting with a vigorous application process in which just two percent of applicants were accepted. Many of the… Read More…

TechStars: An inside look at 87 days of madness

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It’s day 87 of TechStars Seattle. It’s also the last day of the program. The incubation program culminates with an event this afternoon called Demo Day where more than 400 angel investors, VCs and press will watch ten companies pitch their vision in just six minutes. Six minutes. That’s all you get to impress the audience,… Read More…

TechStars ruins your sex life

Flickr photo via Djwings

What happens when you lock a bunch of computer nerds in a room for 90-days and encourage them to create new startup companies? Well, for one thing, they stop having sex. That’s one of the findings in a new infographic (yeah, sounds kind of dirty considering the topic, doesn’t it?) produced by TechStars’ participants Vizify… Read More…

Startup Weekend kicks off SW Next: A multi-day bootcamp for entrepreneurs

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Startup Weekend has already given thousands of developers, geeks and other tech professionals a taste of what it’s like to start a company. But, sometimes, you just can’t cram everything into a 54-hour coding marathon. In order to address those needs, the Kauffman Foundation-backed non-profit is experimenting with a new program in Seattle called SW Next…. Read More…

Where are they now? Update on the TechStars Class of 2010

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Some have gone out of business. Several have changed course. And most are still hanging their shingle in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, looking to transform everything from the way we watch TV to how we manage airline miles. As TechStars Seattle gets ready to launch a new batch of hatchlings on Thursday (full list… Read More…

Seattle startup Beamit beams up $750,000, recruits Amazon employee Josh Hug

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As a mentor at TechStars, Josh Hug got an inside peek at some of the cool technologies emerging inside the Seattle tech incubator. But one in particular grabbed his attention: Beamit. And now the 33-year-old former CEO at Shelfari is joining that young upstart in order to help transform the way people transfer money to… Read More…

GeekWire Radio: Steve Jobs bio, Microsoft Store, TechStars, and Pioneer Square’s tech future

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This week on the GeekWire radio show and podcast, we look ahead to the upcoming Steve Jobs biography, and go over some of the controversial tidbits that have leaked out in advance. We also assess Microsoft’s new Seattle retail store, talk about a plea from TechStars to the “godfathers” of Seattle tech, and discuss the… Read More…

Done eating squid for now, Kyle Kesterson charts new course after Giant Thinkwell

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Kyle Kesterson, the co-founder and creative force behind Seattle startup Giant Thinkwell, is leaving the company in order to pursue new opportunities. What those are, Kesterson isn’t quite sure yet. “I have a vision and a passion for what I want to collaborate on and where I want to leave my mark and it is… Read More…

TechStars’ plea to Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and the other ‘godfathers’ of Seattle tech

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Andy Sack, the director of TechStars Seattle, is accustomed to critiquing the pitches of entrepreneurs. Now, Sack is doing an elevator pitch of his own, making a plea to some of the heaviest hitters in Seattle tech. In an email and video message (both posted below), Sack and other members of TechStars Seattle make the pitch… Read More…

LikeBright: Helping nice gals find good dudes since 2011

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The problem with many online dating sites is that they are dominated by dudes, sometimes creating an unwelcoming environment for 50 percent of the population. LikeBright co-founders Sonya Lai, Ron Lai and Nick Soman want to flip the model on its head, creating a service where women can vouch for guys they know and tag… Read More…

Meet Romo: The super cool smartphone-powered robot

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A few weeks ago, I bumped into Romotive co-founder Phu Nguyen at a geeky tech event in Seattle. Nguyen, who had recently joined the class of TechStars Seattle, was showing off a cool way to control a mini-robot from his smartphone. Intrigued, I had to find out more. Now, according to a new video posted on… Read More…

No more slacking in class: Highlighter unveils Groups to boost student engagement

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As students head back to college campuses this fall, here’s a new technology from a Seattle startup which might change the rules on those well-known slackers who’ve been known to skip homework and reading assignments. Highlighter’s latest offering, dubbed Groups, is a free online tool that allows professors to form private online groups where students,… Read More…

Seattle group wins $1.2 million for new startup gaming accelerator

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Seattle’s gaming industry is often overlooked, but it is an economic force in the region with more than 150 companies employing upwards of 15,000 people. And with recent deals like Electronic Arts buying Seattle-based PopCap Games for up to $1.3 billion, there’s certainly a need to make sure that the next-generation of gaming companies take… Read More…

TechStars shines with $24M, looks to support grads with $100,000 checks

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Future graduates of TechStars will have the option to walk away with a little more cash in the bank as part of a new program being announced today. The high-tech incubator, which started in Boulder in 2006 and expanded to Seattle last year, has raised $24 million that it will use to bankroll entrepreneurs who… Read More…

The entrepreneurial ‘petri dish’ at General Assembly, and why one geek would love to see it in Seattle

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Let’s get one thing cleared up right away. TeachStreet founder Dave Schappell’s investment in General Assembly does not indicate that the New York City-based startup incubator, co-working space and technology education firm is planning a Seattle branch campus. At least, not anytime in the near future. But, would Schappell, who joined with the likes of… Read More…

Bezos, Schultz and others back NYC startup incubator General Assembly: Time to bring a branch to Seattle?

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Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s venture capital firm, Maveron, are tossing their support behind General Assembly, a New York City startup incubator which started last year with “little more than an idea and concrete floor.” The Seattle entrepreneurs — joined by well known investors such as Yuri Milner and Tom Vander… Read More…