This is a surprisingly good post. The title made me think it was going to be yet another startup flounder crowing, but it's actually a pretty thoughtful critique of the whole Techstars Chicago program.
The "100+k for 7-11% equity" analysis is particularly damning.
I think they're taking the "Techstars accepts 1% of applications" thing much too seriously. Presumably, only a tiny fraction of the inquiries they get are from serious teams.
Also: I've been to 1871 a couple times, and I got exactly the same vibe these people got. I know some people with solid companies working out of there, but the space is practically the archetype of the "startup playing house" idea Paul Graham likes to write about. It's particularly sad because it's located in Chicago, where it's easy to get an inexpensive office lease.
Later: the equity math is apparently not as damning as it sounds, or, perhaps, not damning at all.
The "100+k for 7-11% equity" analysis is particularly damning.
I think they're taking the "Techstars accepts 1% of applications" thing much too seriously. Presumably, only a tiny fraction of the inquiries they get are from serious teams.
Also: I've been to 1871 a couple times, and I got exactly the same vibe these people got. I know some people with solid companies working out of there, but the space is practically the archetype of the "startup playing house" idea Paul Graham likes to write about. It's particularly sad because it's located in Chicago, where it's easy to get an inexpensive office lease.
Later: the equity math is apparently not as damning as it sounds, or, perhaps, not damning at all.