A dual post today on two great programs that all early-stage web start-up teams should know about: TechStars and LaunchBox. 

TECHSTARS

Last summer, I visited the first year of TechStars and gave a talk called 9 Conflicting Tips for Start-ups which outlined some of my experience working with web start-ups over the years.  It seemed well-received by the group, and I had a lot of fun getting to know everyone.  I’m planning to visit again this year, this time to join a panel discussion on user experience (more on that later).

TechStars is a summer incubator program that invites 10 very early-stage start-ups to Boulder, Colorado for the summer while they build their business.  Throughout the summer, you get up to $15,000 in seed funding (read: spending money), are surrounded by other passionate entrepreneurs, work in kick-ass space, and learn from an incredible line-up of mentors.  Plus, did I mention it’s in Boulder? 

Last year’s stats are amazing: 300 applied, 10 got in, and 8 of the 10 earned follow-on funding after the summer.  As far as I’m concerned, if you’re a young (though this isn’t a requirement) start-up team who can easily up and move to Boulder for the summer and you have an idea that you think is unique / the skills to make it happen, I think you’d be crazy not to apply.  Even if your start-up goes nowhere, I guarantee you that the summer will change your life.  Better hurry: the deadline is March 31st.

LAUNCHBOX

I was excited to hear that a similar program is starting up in our own Washington, DC, this summer.  I learned about LaunchBox last fall when I met Sean Greene, who built and sold Away.com before hooking up with fellow LaunchBox founders Julius Genachowski and John McKinley.  LaunchBox is similar to TechStars in that they provide seed money (up to $30,000) and a 12-week summer “accelerator” program.  They offer access to a similarly impressive line-up of advisors.

LaunchBox got a lot of buzz when it was first announced, and Sean’s done a good job of staying visible in the local community to spread the word.  Here’s a recent interview Sean did with Nick of Social Times, and recent coverage on TechCrunch.  Sean’s a smart, practical guy, and if he’s representative of what LaunchBox is all about, it should be a great program. 

The only downside to LaunchBox that I can see is that, like me, you’ll have to spend the summer in DC (which isn’t all that bad unless you compare it to Boulder).  Their application deadline is March 14th, so, again, hurry up and apply.