Fundraising Toolkit 🧰 | 10 Startup Success Lessons
💡 10 Non-Negotiable Rules of Startup Success
The best founders, the ones who successfully raise and scale, do certain things differently.
They obsess over the problem, not the product. They are data-driven, not emotional.
Three Techstars Managing Directors, with experience guiding hundreds of startups, reveal the 10 most practical and non-negotiable lessons you need to master.
At a Glance
College Recruiting: Sparc bridges employer-student gap.
Ecosystem Maturity: Four stages map community growth.
Investor Process: MDs share counterintuitive tips.
Ambivalence Strategy: Confidence sells more than desperation.
Women in Tech: Global initiative mobilizes Techstars community.
Fundraising News
TransCrypts raises $15M seed round to combat AI fraud and redefine digital identity verification.
Vermeer , the American-Ukrainian defense tech startup, reaches $10M in Series A funding.
Koda Health raises $7M for advanced care planning software. Hiring.
TestSprite secures $6.7M to become ‘testing backbone’ for AI-generated code. Hiring.
catalyx space raises $5.4M seed round for space logistics. Hiring.
The Beans announces $5.4M in seed funding to relieve financial stress for caring professionals.
The Founder’s Guide to Fundraising Readiness
Is your business truly venture-scale? Are you making the common mistake of pitching before your business is structurally ready?
Most fundraising fails because founders lack strategic readiness or tactical preparation.
Stop wasting time on ineffective pitches. Techstars Managing Directors break down the full strategy and execution toolkit you need.
Start with Part 1: Essential Tips for Startup Fundraising to assess your readiness, then move to Part 2: Prepping Your Materials to build your pitch deck and data room.
Announcing Our Newest Network Partner
Techstars is excited to welcome Deel back as our newest network partner.
Deel is a global HR platform that helps startups hire, pay, and manage talent anywhere in the world — quickly, compliantly, and all in one place.
Techstars Alum Closes $15M Seed Round
This is what accelerated momentum looks like. Techstars alum TransCrypts closed a massive $15M Seed round.
They are solving the major pain point of verifying credentials for job candidates, using blockchain to put individuals in control of their own validated employment records.
See the bold vision behind this game-changing raise.
Community & Events
Founder Spotlight: Closing Big Deals in Aerospace
Ampaire CEO and Co-Founder, Kevin Noertker , will share with you real learnings and experience behind how they secured impressive early customers and investors.
Tue Dec 9, 12pm ET
Founder Spotlight: Finding Funding and First Deals in Energy Tech
CruxOCM CEO, Vicki Knott, P.Eng , will share the practical learnings and real world insights you need to navigate long corporate sales cycles and close big deals.
Tue Jan 20, 12pm ET
Upcoming Techstars Accelerator Demo Days
Register and join Techstars programs for their live, virtual or in-person demo day events.
Find a Techstars Startup Weekend
The three-day program where aspiring entrepreneurs can experience startup life. Find one to join in cities around the world.
Hiring
The best place to find a job at a Techstars portfolio company or at Techstars:
Techstars Stats
Data as of September 30, 2025
10,890+
Total Number of Techstars Accelerator Founders
$127.7B
Cumulative Market Cap (Accelerator Companies)
Looking forward to the upcoming “Techstars Founder Spotlight: Closing Big Deals in Aerospace” Tue Dec 9, 12pm ET —> https://luma.com/gc6jnani
Thanks for sharing.
My favorite quotes: "Trying to do it all yourself may feel productive, but it won’t scale.” “Happy ears are dangerous. Just because a customer says something ‘nice,’ doesn’t mean they’re actually adopting your product."