by Min Ha Duong on Startup Grind

Just this April, the Techstars-Barclays program culminated in the largest FinTech Demo Day in history. But it wasn’t in San Francisco or New York. In fact, it wasn’t even in the US. Seeing the incredible caliber of businesses getting ready to take over the world from our part of the world, after months of preparation to pitch in front of 800 people in the same arena that was host to Coldplay weeks before proved it true: with the support of our native London, you don’t need Silicon Valley. These companies are now on their way to raising their next rounds and disrupting financial services. Watch out, world.

But from where I was standing, all I could think was, “what an incredible three months”?—?and already over. As a Techstars Associate, I joined the cohort alongside the startups, helping them build their product and traction into where they are now. It’s not an exaggeration to say it was the best 3 months of my career, so far.

This is my journey as a Techstars Associate, a catalogue of the amazing lessons I learned and the people I met along the way. I hope it will help others thinking to apply to the Techstars Accelerator and join this inspiring global community of entrepreneurs.

Here are the 5 most important things I gained from my time at Techstars:

1. I Met Incredible People

Our Managing Director, or MD, Chris Adelsbach started off demo day with a presentation about Techstars. Instead of focusing on the numbers and track record that Techstars has achieved, he made it all about the people.

Referring to our founders, he called each one out individually: entrepreneurs at Techstars should be as trustworthy as Tricia, funny as Ante, confident as Terrie, commercial like Freddy, smart like Deepak, fearless like Nathan, visionary like Alex, global as Kevin, open as Kush and have strong domain knowledge like Paul. And it was these people I met and grew close to during the program, as we hacked and hustled on our businesses. Without exception, everyone running and in the program had an incredible quality of character, despite coming from various backgrounds and risking their rocketing careers to build something meaningful. This degree of extreme competence can spoil your conversations outside of your team.

One of the core traits of the Techstars network is simple: to give first. I noticed this from Day 0?—?when I applied to the Techstars Associate program, hoping to get connected into London’s tech scene and cut my teeth as an entrepreneur. It helped that Techstars is seen as a gold standard, with more than 700 investments and 90% active or acquired, with over 80 exits. So I knew I’d be learning fast. I hustled to get a startup job: I reached out to Dirk Lehmann on LinkedIn, who himself used to be an Associate, to get the lay of the land. He told me about the program, introduced me to Jess Williamson and Mark Lazar, who were running the Barclays Accelerator, and helped me fast-track my involvement. Like everyone else within Techstars, Dirk gave first and helped me without asking for anything in exchange.

What happened next was a whirlwind of meetings and introductions. I had the pleasure of meeting mentors, founders, and investors: Dave Lerner in New York, a Techstars Mentor; Alex Iskold, Jerrod Hill and KJ Singh from Techstars New York; and Jenny Fielding and Alex Tarhini from Techstars Barclays NYC. Getting to know the people building the global Techstars empire cemented my ambitious: this was the family I wanted to join. With an introduction from Jenny and Alex, I finally reached Madeleine Blyth, program manager of Techstars Barclays London. A few interviews later, I was in, starting off the New Year right. My way was paved through the kindness of those before me, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

Looking back now, I know that the people from this cohort?—?all my family?—?had the biggest impact on me and that this was probably the most valuable part from this program.

2. I Became a Domain Expert

The first month of Techstars is a madhouse: during a period called Mentor Madness, the program brings in about 90 mind-blowing mentors on board to support and advise the teams. As an Associate, you stay close to the teams in the batch, getting a chance to know each of the teams’ businesses better. We built a deep understanding of their industries, the problems they are solving, and the barriers in their way. The clarity of mentor advice was astonishing. Looking back, I’ve acquired a deeper understanding of what it means to be an entrepreneur, and a piercing insight into the financial technology sector.

But Mentor Madness isn’t the only trick Techstars has planned. To support each team’s growth, teams attend Master Classes, which focus on key topics important to founders, like B2B sales, branding, managing technology teams, and the basics of fundraising.

On top of that, every week we had a successful entrepreneur joining us for the Founder Stories where we heard about the entrepreneur’s own journey, including the highs and lows on the difficult path of a founder. Absorbing all the knowledge from these sessions made me feel like being accelerated myself.

But learning can often come from the most unlikely places, and when the Associate program featured so many brilliant minds already, it was obvious what to do next: organize an Associate Master Class, as you might do with your smartest peers. We taught each other about our specific domain skills and helped each other understand why our areas were a useful tool for entrepreneurs. I enjoyed an introduction to design and agile development, for example, and taught our own primer on Machine Learning.

But the program was not only about learning new things. It was about putting this knowledge to work.

3. I Put My Knowledge to Work

By month two, the key word changed from learning to execution. The Associates worked on individual projects alongside the teams that required help, empowered with the freedom to pick what we worked on, and with whom. I can’t think of a better way to broaden one’s skillset than to work so flexibly.

One one project, I put energy into customer development and product strategy.

On another, I defined the go-to-market strategy and pricing.

I launched a large and optimize ad campaigns on Facebook, analyzing statistical performance.

I evaluated customer acquisition strategies against the unit economics.

I built a semi-automated KPI dashboard.

I got to test some growth hacking methods, web development skills, and even managed investor relationships with skills like soft circling and reflective listening.

This was broad but high density learning: a short amount of time brought a ton of new insights, both in helping me sharpen my hard skills and attune my soft skills. Not least of these has been managing my time, putting energy into projects of my choice.

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Even in the last month, focused on Pitch Practice, there were still new skills to learn. As teams honed their stories, we Associates were finishing up our projects and helping craft pitch decks. The entire Techstars cohort was now focused on a single skill: storytelling.
We learned to summarize complicated businesses, making it easy enough for everyone to understand the value proposition through a personal story. With a story in mind, the next skill to learn is how to pitch it: with perfect posture, the right language, and tone of voice to craft a masterpiece of a story.

4. I Joined a Global Family

Working closely with teams working on something they’re pouring their lives into for 13 weeks tends to form some pretty intense bonds. Seeing them all crush their pitches on the O2 stage was a great moment of pride, and it came with a realization: the best part of the Techstars Associate program is that, even after the end of the program, the relationship with the Techstars network is for life.

A Techstars founder or Associate is given lifetime access to the network, and it’s big one. The Techstars global community consists of thousands of people who are the best at what they do, and who can seek support from other experts at will. This is a great club to be in.

The Associate team, though, is something special. We worked together, went out together, and often kept on grinding until 2 AM to support each other. We refer each other to job openings, and offer advice whenever we can. The level of solidarity was profound. I know I have friends I can visit around the world anytime, but these are also the people with whom I would consider founding my own company.

5. I Reached Certainty that Entrepreneurship is my Path

The Associate program seeks out people they believe have entrepreneurial potential?—?and that’s exactly the reason I joined, seeking an advantage whenever I found my own company. Now looking back at everyone I’ve met, everything I’ve learned?—?I know it was the right decision.

Within the last 3 months, I was impacted and inspired by all the amazing founders and mentors around me. I learned a lot through being part of the accelerator, and seeing entrepreneurs at work, I feel more secure of my chosen path to entrepreneurship. I hope to stay in touch with everyone and continue to support the teams every way possible.

All in all, it was a great experience and probably the best investment for my future?—?and if you choose, it can be the best choice for yours. For those considering applying for the Techstars Associate Program?—?DO IT! You’ve heard my story on how it has changed my life, and feel free to reach out to get started on this journey.

Hopefully, one day you will be one of the people who inspire others to write articles like this one.