Author Archives: Alex Iskold
7 Tips for Raising Capital in a Slower Market
We’ve talked a lot here about raising seed capital. Even when capital is readily available, fundraising is still not easy. But today, the markets are cooler, and according to Crain’s and Alley Watch, early-stage investment activity in 2016 in NYC is down compared to 2015. We’ve written about the slowdown back in August of 2015. Lack […]
What is the Customer’s Elevator Pitch for YOUR Startup?
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Moisey Uretsky, co-founder of Digital Ocean (Techstars ’12), a close friend, and one of my all-time favorite founders. Moisey is incredibly smart, thoughtful, and had one of the best product guts and chops out there. We talked about a lot of topics around engineering and startups, and one of the things that came […]
Introducing Techstars Weekly Diversity and Inclusion Office Hours for Founders in NYC
We wrote last week here about doubling our efforts to help founders. During these rather uncertain times, we at Techstars are committed to sending a loud and clear signal that we support our founders 110%. At Techstars we believe that actions speak louder than words. As an organization, we have made an important commitment to diversity and inclusion in technology. […]
Dear Founders, I Commit to Double my Support for YOU and YOUR Startups
There will be a ton written today about the future. I truly, honestly do not know what is going to happen, and so much is not in my, or any of our, control. I don’t want to waste pixels sharing with you how I feel, because probably many of you feel the same. Instead, I […]
Founders first and other things I have learned during 3 years at Techstars
Three years ago I embarked on what, so far, has turned out to be the best job of my career. I am not just saying it, this is actually true—running the Techstars New York City program and working at Techstars has been the best, most humbling job I’ve ever had. Here is what I have learned […]
How a seed-stage company can run a simple and effective board meeting
I am a fan of having a formal board right after the company raises seed financing. I’ve seen how helpful the boards are and how lost and disadvantaged the founders can often be without the board. To put it simply, a good early-stage board helps the CEO identify key future milestones, and helps achieve them. […]
Meet 15 Startups from Techstars NYC Summer 2016 Program
We are delighted to introduce 15 Startups that are finishing our Summer 2016 Program today. As with our previous classes, this was a diverse group of founders solving a wide range of problems. In addition to 6 teams from NYC we had teams from Rochester, Atlanta, San Francisco, two teams from Philadelphia, a team from UK, […]
Let’s face it, it’s time to upgrade the Pitch Deck to a Pitch Video
When founders get connected to investors, they are often asked to send the deck ahead of the meeting. We’ve written here why sending the decks, especially before the first meeting, is generally not a good idea. Startup founders cannot be defined by their decks. The main issue with a pitch deck is that it is […]
11 Questions Founders Need to Ask Investors During the First Meeting
Last week we wrote about questions that investors ask founders during investor meetings. This week we are turning the tables and talking about questions that founders need to ask investors. Most founders spend little time asking investors questions, and that’s too bad. First of all, good investors love it when you ask them questions, because it […]
30 Questions Investors Ask During Fundraising
We’ve written a lot here about fundraising and how it is a complicated, and at times, confusing process. To fundraise effectively you need to prepare and have a strategy, understand different types of investors, understand how much to raise, and create a solid investor pipeline. We have also talked about a fundraising deck, and how to go about putting one together. […]
