Only 1% of the companies that apply to TechStars get in, and this year Sandglaz was one of those lucky ones. It's our first week and we already feel that it's going to be a great opportunity and an awesome experience. We are meeting great people everyday. It is incredibly cool to be able to sit down and discuss our ideas and strategy with top CEOs, VCs, mentors and advisors.
We applied. We didn't know anyone at TechStars and their website said they get 1000 applications and pick only 10. After doing the math we concluded our chances and slim to none. So we decided to put a maximum of 2 hours on the application and get back to work. We were already in business for more than a year, we had traction and early revenue. So even though we didn't put much effort into the application, we probably still had a lot of the right answers. We knew how to think of the startup, and our progress proved we can execute.
It was good enough to get their attention and to get invited to a TS4AD (TechStars for a day) event. They invited us on a Friday to an event taking place the following Wednesday in Seattle. We live in Toronto, we're poor and flights are expensive. We also had a new hire starting on Monday. After discussing it a bit, we decided one of us should fly there and the other can take care of the new hire. Zaid had air miles and I didn't so that pretty much made the decision. TS4AD is an optional event, but my guess is if Zaid didn't make it to the event and if he didn't meet Andy Sack in person, we wouldn't have been invited to the finalist interview.
TS4AD gave us the opportunity to discuss the business with key people, espeically areas of concern. This is really good, because it gave us the chance to see their reactions to different ideas and follow up with them. Every business has challenges, but I think it was important for TechStars to see that we know what our challenges are and have a logical approach of tackling them. We followed up with e-mails. TS4AD made us expand our idea and focus on a specific area.
A few days later we got invited to the finalist interview in Las Vegas. 40 companies got invited to the finalist interview and they select around 10. Our chances went up from 1% to 25%. Now it was worth it to drop everything and focus on the interview. We remembered the feedback we got on TS4AD, we researched the market of our "new" idea. We practiced with advisors in Toronto and we talked to several TechStars alumni. We prepared as much as we knew how.
The interview went well, and so we're here. It went well both ways, they liked us and we liked them. I left the interview thinking these people know what they're doing. Not all startup accelerators are the same. If you're thinking of joining one, assess them.
I love it. It's been one week, and its already everything I expected and more. The size and quality of the mentor network is unmatched. All the other startup teams have strong ideas and lots of passion; I look forward to getting to know them better. If I have any complaints, it would be we need more girls in the founding teams. This year there is 2 of us, which is an improvement from 0 in last years. At least we're moving in the right direction!
Only time will tell for sure, but I think TechStars will be good for Sandglaz. I will try to blog throughout the coming months. If you're thinking of applying to TechStars and want to hear more, subscribe to the blog.
The story of how we got in.
We applied. We didn't know anyone at TechStars and their website said they get 1000 applications and pick only 10. After doing the math we concluded our chances and slim to none. So we decided to put a maximum of 2 hours on the application and get back to work. We were already in business for more than a year, we had traction and early revenue. So even though we didn't put much effort into the application, we probably still had a lot of the right answers. We knew how to think of the startup, and our progress proved we can execute.
It was good enough to get their attention and to get invited to a TS4AD (TechStars for a day) event. They invited us on a Friday to an event taking place the following Wednesday in Seattle. We live in Toronto, we're poor and flights are expensive. We also had a new hire starting on Monday. After discussing it a bit, we decided one of us should fly there and the other can take care of the new hire. Zaid had air miles and I didn't so that pretty much made the decision. TS4AD is an optional event, but my guess is if Zaid didn't make it to the event and if he didn't meet Andy Sack in person, we wouldn't have been invited to the finalist interview.
TS4AD gave us the opportunity to discuss the business with key people, espeically areas of concern. This is really good, because it gave us the chance to see their reactions to different ideas and follow up with them. Every business has challenges, but I think it was important for TechStars to see that we know what our challenges are and have a logical approach of tackling them. We followed up with e-mails. TS4AD made us expand our idea and focus on a specific area.
A few days later we got invited to the finalist interview in Las Vegas. 40 companies got invited to the finalist interview and they select around 10. Our chances went up from 1% to 25%. Now it was worth it to drop everything and focus on the interview. We remembered the feedback we got on TS4AD, we researched the market of our "new" idea. We practiced with advisors in Toronto and we talked to several TechStars alumni. We prepared as much as we knew how.
The interview went well, and so we're here. It went well both ways, they liked us and we liked them. I left the interview thinking these people know what they're doing. Not all startup accelerators are the same. If you're thinking of joining one, assess them.
My first week
I love it. It's been one week, and its already everything I expected and more. The size and quality of the mentor network is unmatched. All the other startup teams have strong ideas and lots of passion; I look forward to getting to know them better. If I have any complaints, it would be we need more girls in the founding teams. This year there is 2 of us, which is an improvement from 0 in last years. At least we're moving in the right direction!
Only time will tell for sure, but I think TechStars will be good for Sandglaz. I will try to blog throughout the coming months. If you're thinking of applying to TechStars and want to hear more, subscribe to the blog.
Strap in tight and enjoy the ride. Oh, don't expect to sleep again for a few months :)
ReplyDelete-Dominic
-TS Alumni (Hackstar Boulder '11)
@dominicdimarco
@mobileigniter
Nada, we're so glad you're here too! Thanks for sharing your story - super impressed with your dedication and what you put into making it here :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for such social platform which give us variety of idea to explore ourself technically .This exposure give benefits to everyone to fit or to survive in global market which is very essential in the global era.
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