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I read (somewhere else) that this is the 4th of the TechStars class of 10 to be acquired. Obviously, "acquired" can mean that the founders got a fat signing bon

I read (somewhere else) that this is the 4th of the TechStars class of 10 to be acquired. Obviously, "acquired" can mean that the founders got a fat signing bonus and an unusually large options plan at the acquiring company, but I still think that's impressive for TechStars. It's still early to judge, but the % of TechStars companies that get Series A funding and the % that have been acquired is starting to look pretty impressive, especially considering that it's in Boulder. /respect to Filtrbox and TechStars both.

feverishaaron 17y ago
The "especially considering that it's in Boulder" statement really rubbed me wrong. The rate at which the Techstars founders are succeeding isn't surprising, if you look at the caliber of mentorship that's available in the area. I'm originally from the SV, and am currently fairly active in the Boulder startup and tech community. I've been very impressed with the accessibility of prominent investors and successful founders in Boulder. There's the same type of geek magic here that the SV has. There's the same communal desire to help other startups succeed and grow, but with a tight-knit small-town feel. If you haven't tried Boulder's tech community on for size, you really should. Hit http://boulder.me http://boulder.me for more.
- webwright 17y ago
  You read it wrong (or I was unclear in what I meant, more likely). YC and PG (and thus news.yc) has a STRONG valley bias. I personally think the Valley's importance is overblown (and that the domination of the Valley is fading). So the remark was more of a jab at valley purists than a statement that "secondary" cities like Boulder (and Seattle, where I am) are less solid. That said, of course, statistically more startups get funded and sold in the valley than anywhere else (by raw # and percentage, near as I can tell). So yeah, I guess these numbers would be remarkable in the valley and are slightly more remarkable in a non-valley town. I have a few posts (with some data) talking about how I think the Valley is losing dominance-- and I'd think TechStars' success is yet another data point here. (search for "valley" and see 1st, 2nd, and 5th post on my blog if you'd like to see some interest data: http://www.tonywright.com/ http://www.tonywright.com/ )

feverishaaron 17y ago

The "especially considering that it's in Boulder" statement really rubbed me wrong. The rate at which the Techstars founders are succeeding isn't surprising, if you look at the caliber of mentorship that's available in the area. I'm originally from the SV, and am currently fairly active in the Boulder startup and tech community. I've been very impressed with the accessibility of prominent investors and successful founders in Boulder. There's the same type of geek magic here that the SV has. There's the same communal desire to help other startups succeed and grow, but with a tight-knit small-town feel. If you haven't tried Boulder's tech community on for size, you really should. Hit http://boulder.me http://boulder.me for more.

webwright 17y ago
You read it wrong (or I was unclear in what I meant, more likely). YC and PG (and thus news.yc) has a STRONG valley bias. I personally think the Valley's importance is overblown (and that the domination of the Valley is fading). So the remark was more of a jab at valley purists than a statement that "secondary" cities like Boulder (and Seattle, where I am) are less solid. That said, of course, statistically more startups get funded and sold in the valley than anywhere else (by raw # and percentage, near as I can tell). So yeah, I guess these numbers would be remarkable in the valley and are slightly more remarkable in a non-valley town. I have a few posts (with some data) talking about how I think the Valley is losing dominance-- and I'd think TechStars' success is yet another data point here. (search for "valley" and see 1st, 2nd, and 5th post on my blog if you'd like to see some interest data: http://www.tonywright.com/ http://www.tonywright.com/ )