My Experience at Foundercon
"While the event is held in San Francisco, one thing that we appreciate about these events is their global focus and how they truly live up to their commitment that “great ideas can come from anywhere”. As of today, Techstars operates 53 accelerators in 37 cities in 14 countries. That’s an unprecedented range, especially in a world where so many discussions around VC funding can seem siloed and centered around Silicon Valley. And more than that, their strategy is clearly working: Techstars’ portfolio boasts a $100B accelerator cumulative market cap with over 20 unicorn success stories.
On top of just being generally a blast, the event itself was extraordinarily productive — especially for a young, growing global venture firm like Passbook. During my time last week at Foundercon, I was able to meet with over 30 companies, from all types of sectors, including in commerce tech, fintech, A.I., media tech and more. These weren’t just exchanges of greeting cards and handshakes either; we were able to form partnerships between five of these companies and our portfolio companies, allowing us to get access to the latest technology and stay on the cutting edge.
All of this was only possible because of our incredible partnership with Techstars, who have recognized the potential of Passbook and wanted to partner with us because of the work we do to help startup founders grow their businesses — particularly immigrants and expats who want to expand their companies globally. This alliance provides an added layer of assurance for our startup investments. More than that, Techstars accelerator companies benefit from substantial backing from the Techstars network and a robust community of mentors."