Colorado Innovators: David Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Techstars

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with David Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Techstars, the startup accelerator that began in Boulder with a $250,000 investment and grew into a multi-billion-dollar investment firm backing thousands of startups worldwide.

David shares his journey from serial entrepreneur to launching Techstars, reflecting on the lessons learned from building (and failing at) startups, how his partnership with David Brown, Brad Feld, and Jared Polis shaped the accelerator model, and why “Give First” became Techstars’ guiding philosophy. He also discusses what makes a great entrepreneur, from attracting top talent to maintaining relentless motivation, and explains how Techstars evolved from a small Boulder experiment into a global network of startup ecosystems. Drawing from years of data, David breaks down the importance of network value and what it reveals about startup success. Finally, he shares his vision for Techstars as he steps back in as CEO, and what it takes to build thriving tech hubs and startup communities.

If you’re an entrepreneur, investor, or just fascinated by the startup world, this episode is full 

📖 Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom:dan-caruso.com/book

 Click here to learn more about Tech Stars:https://www.techstars.com/

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