TechStars and the gestation of a killer idea

January 21st, 2008 | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0) |

The following post may sound like an exercise in tomfoolery. However, if you know me at all, you know I’m prone to vaguely outlandish ideas.

I am applying for up to $15,000 in seed funding to create a startup internet company.

Here’s the deal: I had the idea for a new and innovative website/company/community probably two years ago, at which point I just thought it was a pipe dream. Don’t get me wrong, the idea is fantastic, but I had no means whatsoever to take the idea to reality.

I told a couple of other people about my idea, peppering the conversations with phrases like, “Nobody has thought of something this big,” and “Don’t you see the potential?” and “Seriously, I’m not insane.” As it turns out, one of my good friends (Rebecca) actually thought the idea had some substance. We brainstormed and got excited together, but – again – we didn’t have funding or experience. And then we both graduated from college and moved to different states.

But we never forgot about our idea.

And it’s been haunting me. I keep lamenting the fact that I have this killer idea (which is potentially worth a lot of money) with no way to implement it.

A couple of weeks ago, I thought of the perfect name for the company (I can’t reveal it here – don’t want anybody stealing my idea!), which only fueled the fire. In desperation, I contacted someone I know only through online circles and spewed my idea followed by “So… can you help me?” He said he couldn’t really help me, but he did confirm the awesomeness of the idea (his actual words: “You’re right, I don’t know of anything like this either and could see it taking off.”) I told Rebecca that I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and she said she couldn’t either; she even designed a mockup of the website.

Enter TechStars.

I first read about TechStars on the TechCrunch blog, and my jaw nearly dropped to the floor upon reading the following paragraph:

TechStars offers up to $15,000 in seed funding ($5,000 per founder, max $15,000) to broke entrepreneurs with a good startup idea. Ten winners will be selected, and winners will need to spend most of their time in Boulder over the Northern summer building out their ideas. In return, TechStars takes 5% of the equity in each startup. Winners have full use of TechStar’s offices, access to legal advice, and are able to tap into a strong list of startup mentors to help them build their idea.

Last year over 300 companies applied, and ten were selected. Of those ten, eight of them have gone on to get offers from angel investors, venture capitalists, or acquirers, including socialthing!, EventVue, Intense Debate, and J-Squared Media (creators of the popular Sticky Notes Facebook application).

Anyway, Rebecca and I will be applying for one of the ten spots. Applications are due by March 31, and the winners are announced sometime in April.

Yeah, the odds are against us, but I certainly won’t feel right if I don’t try.