Eamonn Carey
Managing Director at Techstars Connection
Discussion
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eamonncarey
@eamonncarey · MD @ Techstars Connection
Hi, I'm Eamonn, the MD of Techstars Connection in partnership with AB InBev. Techstars is a global ecosystem that helps entrepreneurs build great businesses. Techstars Connection is a new program we're running in New York in partnership with the folks from AB InBev. I'm excited to be here today to answer your questions about how the vast Techstars network works, as well as anything to do with startups, product, venture, and more.
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Kacey Wherley
@kaceyraewherley · Marketing Manager, Techstars
What traits do you look for most in a startup team?
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eamonncarey
@eamonncarey · MD @ Techstars Connection
@kaceyraewherley great teams are key - it's always amazing to find great people whose skills complement one another, so that's a huge one. domain expertise helps - I love finding companies that tell me an origin story that basically describes them scratching an itch they felt in their professional or personal life. I love companies that have experimented and done a ton of a/b testing or customer discovery interviews to really help to nail their proposition. i also like teams who know how to keep me updated and how to manufacture a sense of urgency and excitement around what they're doing.
Marius Chawa
@mariuschawa
Hi Eamonn, i have 2 questions
1) what are the 2 biggest preqs you advice bootstrapping startups to have accomplished before approaching you for pre-seed funding?
2) how can they pitch to you?
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eamonncarey
@eamonncarey · MD @ Techstars Connection
@mariuschawa great question! 1) have a product or some version of what you're building so that I can look at it. This can be as simple as a clickable PDF or as complex as a fully fleshed out product, but have something to show me. If you need help building that stuff, I wrote a few tips on how to do it - http://mashable.com/2014/04/03/p...
to your second question, I'm pretty easy to find on Twitter (same username as here) and elsewhere, so just feel free to reach out. Also my email address is firstname dot lastname at techstars dot com - simple!
Thomas Stöcklein
@tomstocklein · FoundersFundersFuture.com
If you had to pick a few pre-revenue startups to personally invest in via angel/seed round, which companies would you place your bets on right now?
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eamonncarey
@eamonncarey · MD @ Techstars Connection
@tomstocklein I'm a massive fan of what Viv are doing. I saw them demo at Pioneers in Vienna and was totally blown away. In terms of pre-revenue startups, I'm about to invest in at least a half dozen as part of the Techstars Connection program, so you can get a better read of the areas that excite me when we announce the teams!
Thomas Stöcklein
@tomstocklein · FoundersFundersFuture.com
What are some of your favorite apps that most folks may not have heard of?
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eamonncarey
@eamonncarey · MD @ Techstars Connection
@tomstocklein I'm a sucker for weather apps, so weather underground is great. I love Dark Sky. I've been messing around with Rex quite a bit recently, which I really like. Fast Like a Fox is a game I've been playing a lot of recently - it reminds me of the amazing button bashing games that I used to play on the Spectrum/Atari/Nintendo etc when I was a kid...
Elias Parisca
@eaparisca · Founder and CEO at Anywr
Hi Eamonn, I'm Elias, CEO of Anywr. My Techstars Connection application is filled out and ready to go, we only need the team video. From the webinar, I see it's a very important part of the application. I'm wondering if you could share some insight into what you guys look for in the team video. Are you looking for specific information? Or are you looking for something creative and different? Thank you!
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eamonncarey
@eamonncarey · MD @ Techstars Connection
@eaparisca my colleague Alex Iskold wrote a great piece about this - https://alexiskold.net/2014/09/1.... The team video is really crucial - that's the part where we maybe get to understand how your team fits together or get a feel for your personality. I've seen simple videos that have been screengrabs of Skype conversations that have worked. We've also had a few more Hollywood style productions that have been brilliant. In terms of tips, make sure you get across a little bit of your personality, make sure it's clear what everyone does. Aside from that, have fun. The ones that stand out are the ones where it's clear the company and the founders have a real rapport and real energy. Ultimately, we're investing in companies but also making a decision to hang out with them for 16 weeks on a pretty full time and full on way - so make sure that your team video makes us think that spending that time with you will be amazing for a wide variety of reasons.
Elias Parisca
@eaparisca · Founder and CEO at Anywr
@eamonncarey this is excellent Eamonn, thank you!
Emily Hodgins
@ems_hodge · Community and Marketing, Product Hunt
Hi Eamonn, what's one piece of advice that you find yourself consistently give to new founders?
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eamonncarey
@eamonncarey · MD @ Techstars Connection
@ems_hodge learn to tell your story. I get pitched a lot and even though I'm reasonably technical and have been in the industry for a long time, you'd be surprised how often I'm baffled by what they're trying to do. Storytelling and pitching is such a key part of what you do, that it's incredible how little attention people pay to it. Practice your pitch. Refine your story and make it easy for everyone to understand. That first two minutes is so crucial - if you're building something massively complex, we can get into the weeds in later conversations, but make me excited to have that later conversation first.
Also, build things. I meet a lot of people who haven't put together wireframes, mockups or prototypes. It's so super simple to do that stuff that I find it bizarre that people don't do it more often. Customer development and conversations are important, and having something (even if it's only semi-tangible) is crucial to make those conversations count.
Theoharis Dimarhos
@theo_dimarhos · Marketing+Biz Dev at AngelouEconomics
Hi! What have you found to be the best way to create an important network around you? Is there something that you would earlier in your life regarding that?
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eamonncarey
@eamonncarey · MD @ Techstars Connection
@theo_dimarhos hang out with great people. say yes to things as much as you can in your early career. I've made so many friends and met so many amazing people by going and speaking at events or going to meetups. Never be afraid to get in touch with someone and ask to meet them for a coffee. You'd be amazed at how easy it is to get really smart, influential people to give you fifteen minutes. Be open - get involved in events and things around your community. If you want an amazing way to build your network, go to a Startup Weekend. You'll meet some incredible people. Go to events that are on near you. Talk to people. Keep talking to the ones that you find inspirational. Send short emails to people you're not connected to but want to meet and ask them for 10 mins. You'll find that building a network is a) good fun and b) easier than you think.
Do not send 'i'd like to add you to my professional network....' messages on LinkedIn - that's a surefire way to not succeed or engage with people.
Theoharis Dimarhos
@theo_dimarhos · Marketing+Biz Dev at AngelouEconomics
@eamonncarey Thanks, this was a great answer. I appreciate it.
Pablo Quiroga
@pabloiquiroga · CEO, Fuelixir
Hi Eamonn, what do you value most from being able to expose yourself to international experiences? What are some differences and/or similarities in early stage company cultures around the world?
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eamonncarey
@eamonncarey · MD @ Techstars Connection
@pabloiquiroga one of the best parts of my job is getting to meet companies and interesting folks from around the world. I get to learn about opportunities, markets and cultures that are hugely different. I think entrepreneurs around the world are all massively passionate and eager in my experience. I think the biggest differences are around tactics and execution. Some parts of the world are much better at just doing things and running tons of experiments. Others think a little bit more before acting.
Thomas Stöcklein
@tomstocklein · FoundersFundersFuture.com
Hi Eamonn,
Thanks for doing this ProductHunt AMA! What was the main motivation for TechStars to partner with a multinational beverage company?
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eamonncarey
@eamonncarey · MD @ Techstars Connection
@tomstocklein AB InBev is an amazing partner for us to have. When you think about their business, you start to understand the massive scale and expertise they have in everything from retail to branding and right through to logistics and beyond. The experience that they have within the company will be invaluable to the founders on the Connection program and the access and potential partnerships that will open up during the program will be absolutely huge. That scale, expertise and potential was a huge part of that discussion and decision.