Former Kauffman VP will head operations here.
Here’s one reason to look forward to 2017: Techstars, the international network of startup accelerators, plans to launch a new program in Kansas City next year.
Applications will open in January. Ten startups will be selected for three months of intense training and mentoring beginning in July. Participants also will receive access to Techstars’ global network of peers, mentors, investors and customers.
Techstars isn’t a stranger to Kansas City. For the past three years, it was contracted to run the Sprint Accelerator’s program for startups. (The Sprint Accelerator still plans to operate its own programs in collaboration with corporate partners like the Dairy Farmers of America.)
The continuing presence of Techstars—one of the best-known organizations of its kind—is good news for Kansas City. It could help the region recruit more high-potential ventures and encourage homegrown startups to stay here.
The Rise of the Rest
With its new Kansas City program, Techstars is betting on a trend that former AOL founder Steve Case calls “the rise of the rest.”
It’s the idea that fast- growing, innovative companies don’t necessarily have to come from Silicon Valley, Boston or a handful of established startup cities. With time, effort and the right kinds of support, “entrepreneurial ecosystems” can bloom practically anywhere.
“It’s not only about having venture capital in your backyard,” said Lesa Mitchell, who will serve as the managing director of Techstars Kansas City. “It’s about utilizing all the expertise in your backyard.”
This has been a longtime interest for Mitchell, who served as the vice president of innovation and networks at the Kauffman Foundation from 2003 to 2013. Kauffman funded research and programs focused on catalyzing and scaling entrepreneurship networks, and one of Mitchell’s longtime partners was Brad Feld, a Techstars co-founder.
Feld and his partners launched the first Techstars accelerator in Boulder, Colorado, a place that, at that time, wasn’t known as a hot spot for startups. A few years ago, a Kauffman report found that Boulder had more tech startups per capita than any other U.S. city. (Feld ended up writing a book about his experiences, “Startup Communities,” and it’s essentially a handbook for creating a community like Boulder’s.)
“Now this is our opportunity to build a Techstars program not unlike the one he founded in Boulder,” Mitchell said.
‘They’re Growing Amazing Entrepreneurs’
In the past few years, Mitchell has served as an adviser to a series of startups in Silicon Valley and New York. She’s also had the opportunity to build entrepreneurial ecosystems in Africa and India.
“They’re growing amazing entrepreneurs,” Mitchell said. “The trick is, can you surround the entrepreneurs with the education, with the talent that they need to grow their company, and with the mentors and opportunities to do pilots with other companies?”
Mitchell said she’ll be contacting local C-suite executives and asking them to serve as mentors and advisers to the companies participating in Techstars Kansas City. She also wants to build ties with the local universities.
Several of the other Techstars programs focus on a particular industry, such as health care, retail or the Internet of Things. It’s not clear yet if Kansas City’s will.
Mitchell said she’ll be looking for companies that not only have a solid concept that could serve a huge market, but are led by a strong team of founders. “The founding team makes a lot more difference than many people realize,” Mitchell said.
“I’m looking for entrepreneurs and founding teams that really, really understand the problem they’re trying to solve and the problem is a problem worth solving.”
