The White House-sponsored TechStars network, launched yesterday as part of the Startup America initiative by US President Barack Obama to accelerate start-ups, has added DCU Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship to its portfolio to help get tech start-ups off the ground here in Ireland.
As a TechStars network member, DCU Ryan Academy will now take part in White House Startup America Program.
TechStars itself is a White House-sponsored alliance of independently owned and operated start-up accelerator programmes from dozens of cities across the US and the world.
Startup America
In partnership with the White House, the goal of the TechStars network is to become an engine for job growth by ensuring that over the next four years, 5,000 experienced business leaders and investors will mentor and support 6,000 promising young entrepreneurs. The aim is to increase the success rate and sustainability of each programme, and to ultimately create 25,000 new economy jobs by 2015.
David Cohen, Brad Feld, David Brown and Jared Polis founded TechStars, the mentorship-driven seed stage investment program, in 2006
Propeller Accelerator at Ryan Academy
TechStars is comprised of other start-up accelerator programs – similar to Propeller Accelerator at DCU Ryan Academy – that provide seed funding and mentorship to innovative entrepreneurs. The Propeller Accelerator will collaborate with these organisations and learn best practices from the mentorship-driven model pioneered by TechStars, which the White House has termed “the leading start-up accelerator program in the United States”.
As a member of the TechStars network, Propeller will have access to a rich set of strategic resources, including professional development and ongoing support to effectively lead and mentor innovative entrepreneurs in Dublin.
“We are pleased to have the DCU Ryan Academy Propeller Accelerator join the TechStars network,” said David Cohen, founder and CEO of TechStars.
“The TechStars network signals and formalises our support for credible mentorship-driven programs like Propeller. We believe the proliferation of the mentorship-driven accelerator model is healthy for entrepreneurs. Through this network of independent organisations, we can help increase their impact dramatically and make entrepreneurial communities the real winners.”
DCU’s Ryan Academy Propeller Accelerator joins a select group of invitation-only TechStars network member organisations in major cities across the US and around the world. The network is open to all entrepreneurial thought leaders and organisations interested in building or enhancing mentorship-driven start-up accelerator programmes.
TechStars network
Currently, the TechStars network includes charter members in dozens of cities, including AlphaLab, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Arizona State University, Scottsdale, Arizona; Betaspring, Providence, Rhode Island; Blueprint Health, New York, NY; BoomStartup, Salt Lake City, Utah; Excelerate Labs, Chicago, Illinois; Founders Co-op, Seattle, Washington; Incubate Miami, Miami, Florida; Joyful Frog Digital Incubator; Singapore; Jumpstart Foundry, Nashville, Tennessee; LaunchPad Ignition, New Orleans, Louisiana; Ryan Academy Propeller Seed Accelerator Program, Dublin, Ireland; Springboard, Cambridge, UK; Startupbootcamp, Copenhagen, Denmark and Madrid, Spain; TechStars Boston, Massachusetts, New York, NY, Boulder, Colorado and Seattle, Washington; Tech Wildcatters, Dallas, Texas; The Brandery, Cincinnati, Ohio; The Elevator, Tel Aviv, Israel.
For further information about TechStars and the Irish programme to support tech start-ups, contact Gordon McConnell, deputy CEO and director of business development for the DCU Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship at Gordon.mcconnell@dcu.ie.
