The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 29 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Cohen: Nearly 98% of startup bridge rounds are bridges to nowhere
“Yeah, my stats are only a 98%, so I'm not sure if I get it right, but it's somewhere in that zone. No, they often are bridges to nowhere”
Borthwick: Under 40% of YC and Techstars startups raise $750k within one year
“I believe the exact numbers are, is 36 for Techstars and 38 for YC.”
Cohen: Techstars returns would be 5x lower if using uncapped notes
“Had all the investments we've done been uncapped notes, it's something like a five X, you know, lower return.”
80% of Techstars accelerator companies raise follow-on funding
“80% of our accelerator companies are going to raise around from somewhere.”
Cohen: Startups should form a board of directors at the seed stage
“Yesterday. I think that companies need to put it in as soon as possible. And, you know, I think entrepreneurs have this tendency to think of the board as this Overlord controlling things and they can fire me and all that, but that's not necessarily the case, r…”
David Cohen: Tech industry rewards loudness over performance
“I'm very concerned about the health of the long-term dynamic where entrepreneurs and investors value fame and boisterousness over shut the hell up and do a great job and help the company, right? I think most industries evolve towards rewarding performance and,…”
David Cohen: Best investments come from instantaneous 5-to-10-minute instincts
“Most of the best investments I've ever Had have been that five, 10 minute instantaneous, you know, like I'm in reaction, right?”
Cohen: Consistency in investment strategy matters more than the strategy itself
“It's about having a consistent strategy and just sticking to it. You know, it almost doesn't matter so much what the strategy is as that you're consistent about it and stick to it.”
Tak Lo: Creative, eager hustlers beat experienced candidates when hiring for startups
“From my perspective if I'm hiring somebody and I see someone who's Who's super eager, hustling and especially very, very creative. I think I would take that over the one, someone who actually has a lot of experience.”
Cohen: Structure investment terms to test and hedge founder predictions
“So when you're getting a story from the entrepreneurs about what's going to happen, try to find ways to make the terms match that story and the eventuality that that story may not happen.”
Cohen: Trust between founders and investors is rebuildable if openly discussed
“So again, we all do things wrong, but if I can trust that we're going to be able to talk about that openly, especially in a board or investor context, or this works in personal life as well, Then I think it's easy to rebuild almost no matter what the transgres…”
Cohen: A founder's reaction when confronted reveals their true character
“What they say in that moment of integrity is how you can really tell how a person will behave and their value.”
Cohen: Early-stage startups should raise 18 to 24 months of runway
“The company has, but I think at the seed stage, I would look for a minimum of 18 months. Today, I prefer two years, actually. So, sort of seed and series A investing.”
Techstars requires approval from only one partner for seed investments
“We've maintained, even though we have four partners now working on the larger investments, we've maintained this idea that if somebody gets excited, that's all you need. Go make the seed investment.”
David Cohen invested $50k in Uber after asking for a $100k allocation
“And I said, I was in sitting on that bar stool. I think I asked for a 100,000 dollars. And, you know, cause at the time I think that was the sort of up leveling that we were trying to do in that fund. And I got 50. It's fine. I took 50.”
Shah: Boulder, Colorado is a top emerging startup ecosystem
“Bigger thing also, I would say even, but just being about bullish on Sparrow, is that would be bullish on Boulder, Colorado. I mean, I was there a few weeks ago working with Techstars, working with Galvanize, working with Boomtown three accelerator programs ou…”
Techstars London backs solo founders including Listable and Osper's Alec Farmer
“I mean, there are some spectacular single founders that, that can do a ton, right? So for example, we backed listable from our last class. They, he was a single founder. Alec Farmer from Osper was also a single founder as well. But they were incredible.”
Greg Rogers: Effective startup mentors possess intellectual curiosity and honesty
“The best mentors are the ones that are intellectually curious, so you can get a sense pretty quickly by talking to somebody whether or not they love to work on puzzles. So are these the people who can sit down with you and just very quickly, and they, you can …”
Techstars prioritizes former founders over industry experts for Managing Director roles
“But first and foremost, Techstars looks for entrepreneurs for their MDs. He said, you know, you can find industry experts all you want, but what's actually really hard to find are people who have, you know, gone through the VC races, been rejected multiple tim…”
Rogers: Techstars mentors donate their time without receiving equity
“It's a charitable donation of time.”
Techstars deploys $50M-$75M annually into accelerator investments alone
“We're investing 50, seventy-five million dollars a year just in the accelerator level plus the fall on capital.”
Techstars invests in roughly 500 startups per year
“We're investing in about 500 companies a year at this point across these 50 accelerators that you mentioned.”
Techstars maintains a 1:1 reserve ratio for larger follow-on investments
“When we do make a larger investment, we actually reserve one-to-one. So for every dollar we put in, we keep a dollar in reserve, and then we, you know, over time sort of reallocate that as needed and think about our reserves as a strategic part of what we do.”
Three of Techstars' first ten companies were acquired within a year
“Within a year of the first program in 2007, there were three acquisitions, and they were all relatively small. So out of the first 10 companies, you know, social thing was picked up around ten million dollars and a couple other companies had been bought in tha…”
Cohen: Techstars manages over $300 million with 150 employees
“Today, you know, so we went from that five million dollar fund today, we're over three hundred million dollars in, in managed capital, but, you know, we have a 150 people in the organization.”
Cohen: Five or six companies from Techstars' 2007 cohort reached exits
“In fact, there's still one company today, you know, from that original class in 2007, that's operating, you know, some have failed. I think there've been five or six exits out of that first 10 companies.”
Techstars portfolio has 762 companies with over $2B raised
“They have a total of 762 companies, of which 90% are active or have been acquired, and they've raised more than two billion in funding.”