Boulder-based Techstars, one of the best-known tech accelerators of this century, is leaving Colorado for New York, a move that startled some of its l

Techstars moving HQ out of Colorado and ending its Boulder accelerator

submited by

Style Pass

2024-02-27 17:30:12

Boulder-based Techstars, one of the best-known tech accelerators of this century, is leaving Colorado for New York, a move that startled some of its local community.

“It’s like McDonald’s is closing its first restaurant,” said Scott Yates, a serial entrepreneur who has been a mentor for the Boulder program “since the days TS was in an office upstairs from the imported Tibetan gift shop.”

The business accelerator launched its first program in 2007 to help technology founders hone their craft and business plans, pivot, if necessary, and make a pitch on Demo Day to raise capital from investors. Since inception, more than 4,000 startups and 9,000 founders from all over the world have gone through Techstar programs in multiple states and countries. They’ve also raised $26.6 billion in funding, according to the company.

Techstars was a major contributor to building the local entrepreneurial ecosystem that made Boulder and Denver among the top startup cities in the U.S.