Vator Splash London Fireside Chat with David Cohen

Techstars founders David Cohen and David Brown join Bambi Francisco

David Cohen and David Brown, both founders of Techstars, the world-class accelerator program, sat down with Bambi Francisco for a Fireside Chat at Splash London. The interview covered everything from how the two Davids started Techstars after a couple stints as entrepreneurs, how Techstars selects its startups and where Techstars is going.

Some interesting points to highlight.

On the importance of idea vs team, Cohen said the idea is a bonus because half the time, Techstars portfolio companies change their ideas. The way he evaluates startups is to look at six criteria: Team, team, team, market, progress and idea. One way to know whether a team is solid is by asking where and how the founders met, and whether they show "An explicable passion for the product... And an attachment to the problem, not the solution. They're obsessed with the product. Those are signs that these people are mission-driven."

Save the Date: Splash LA is Oct. 2 in Santa Monica. Keynotes include Jessica Alba and Brian Lee, Founders of The Honest Company, Michael Heyward, Founder & CEO of Whisper, Scott Painter, Founder & CEO of TrueCar, and many more. Register here. Apply to the startup competition to win $35k in prizes and sit-down meetings with VCs/angels. Apply here.
Read more at https://vator.tv/news/2014-06-24-city-state-accelerators-boost-their-local-economies#jfe6gHHVcl1OuIE1.99