Big news today- TechStars is coming to Boston!  As announced by TechCrunchs, TechStars is expanding outside of Boulder to include Boston. 

For those of you unfamiliar with the program, TechStars is a mentorship-driven entrepreneurship program.  In fact, I’ve been one of the mentors for the past two years.  The first company that I mentored, Socialthing! was successfully acquired by AOL.  My second summer, I mentored Ingnighter and App-X, one that raised a successful angel round and the other, being in revenue, not needing to raise money. 

The program has been very successful with 12 of the 20 companies that have been through the program being angel or venture backed. Two more left the program profitable.  Two companies, including the aforementioned Socialthing! have been acquired.

The investors and mentors in TechStars Boston are local entrepreneurs and investors.  The program in Boston is being run by Shawn Broderick, an established Boston-based entrepreneur. 

Applications are open NOW through March 21st. Apply now!

In case you haven’t heard, Techstars is now open for applications for this summer. 

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Techstars, it’s one of the greatest business accelerators that I can think of.  Up to ten teams a year move to Boulder and get hands-on mentorship from a great group of people. 

Along with the $18,000 that comes with each accepted company, every team gets to meet with potential investors along the way for both feedback and networking for potential funding later.

I’m proud to say that the team I mentored in year one, socialthing! was ranked as the #2 M&A return for 2008 for Internet companies. 

My two teams this past year, Ignighter and App-X are both doing well, one having received seed funding and the other doing so well that they haven’t needed it. 

I’d encourage anyone with a great idea that wants to really move their concept to consider applying.

While I’m a little late to the party in delivering the news, I wanted to send a personal shout out to the Socialthing! team congratulating them on their acquisition by AOL.

When I met Matt, Ben, Brian and later Joel, I found out from David Cohen that I would be their mentor for the inaugural summer at TechStars.  My initial reaction was that I didn’t like their idea, their direction or their market, but told them that if they could change my mind, then they would be in great shape. 

Instead of pouting, Matt decided to prove me wrong.  He and the team did.  It was a great summer of 2007 meeting with them every week, dreaming about new features and figuring out how to make their idea a business.  Sometimes, I think they only listened to me for the free sushi, but that was okay too.   

Although the 2007 TechStars class graduated, we’ve stayed in close touch and it’s been great to see their progress.  I can think of no better reward than having lunch today with Matt and his family and was honored and happy to get to share part of the day with them. 

Congratulations to everyone.  Here’s to you, to staying in touch and to your future successes. 

Back in January of this year, I got an email introduction from my friend Sarah Reed introducing me to a New York-based company called Ignighter.com.  The premise was simple, yet novel:  current online dating services don’t "work" for the current crop for 20-35 year olds.  Ignighter had invented the concept of "group dating" which they believed was safer, less awkward and more fun. 

At the time, I knew nothing about online dating, but did know that a few sites were very successful (J-Date, Match.com, eHarmony), so I was intrigued with what founders Adam Sachs and Dan Osit had come up with.  I decided that I would present the idea to the graduate school class that I teach at the University of Colorado.  The class overwhelming supported the idea, especially the women in the class.  At that point, I knew they were on to something.

While my partner Seth was out in New York, he visited with Adam and Dan and reported back that he was intrigued and really liked the guys.  Seth and I encouraged them to apply to TechStars as a way of accelerating their development.  After they were accepted into the program, Seth and I were excited to be part of their mentorship team.

During the summer, they’ve done a great of job of completely redesigning their website and technology.  They’ve done an even more impressive job of thinking about the future of their platform and how devices like the iPhone might be a game changer in their industry.  In short, they’ve gone from concept to product in a short period of time. 

This week is their official launch.  They are kicking things off with an event in New York City.  If you are around, you should attend.  I’ve been told that I’m too old for dating target audience, so I’m not allowed to go.

I’d like to congratulate Adam, Dan, Kevin, Nicky (a.k.a "boy genius") and Molly on a job well done.  It’s nice to see the progress that you’ve made while here in Boulder and even nicer that I can now call you all my friends.

Here’s to Ignighter – "Opportunity without Pressure."