The Techstars Thesis
Techstars raised its accelerator investment cap to $220k, but critics say it remains poor value, merely reacting to rivals who’ve offered $200k+ for years. The boost came by closing unicorn programs, not new funds, and founders can succeed without giving up equity.
Techstars announced new terms for their accelerators today increasing investment to a maximum of $220,000.
But don’t be fooled.
Techstars is still the worst value in accelerators.
Other accelerators have been offering $200k+ terms for years now. This is a reactionary move by Techstars to stay relevant in an ever more competitive environment.
They did not raise a new fund in order to accomplish this. Instead, they closed the only programs with unicorns to fund it.
Founders don’t need to give up equity to accelerators or VCs to be successful. It’s that much more satisfying when you figure it out and deny them the investment later.