Episode 69: Shirley Romig - Chief Accelerator Investment Officer at Techstars: Investing in Amazing Unstoppable Founders

In this episode, Shirley Romig, Chief Accelerator Investment Officer at Techstars, discusses the future of accelerator programs and the importance of ecosystem development. She highlights the need to tap into talent globally and create partnerships that fuel growth for Techstars' portfolio companies. Shirley also shares valuable lessons she has learned from scaling companies like Lyft and Equinox, emphasizing the importance of having a compelling vision and executing it with a strategic plan. She draws parallels between running marathons and building startups, highlighting the endurance mindset and the power of community. Shirley's goal is to keep growing Techstars into the first investor for pre-seed startups across the world. Takeaways 1.Techstars is evolving to focus on ecosystem development and closer synergy between investments and ecosystem development. 2.Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. Tapping into global talent and creating win-win partnerships is crucial for the growth of the accelerator programs and portfolio companies. 3.Being able to balance the big vision and the detail is critical in the beginning of a startup. 4.Building a startup requires an endurance mindset and the ability to navigate highs and lows. 5.Community and mentorship play a vital role in the startup journey. This episode of EU-Startups Podcast is brought to you by Vanta. Compliance doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, with Vanta it can be super simple. Trusted by over 7,000 companies, Vanta automates the pricey, time-consuming process of prepping for ISO 27001,SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, and more. Learn more here: http://vanta.com/eustartups