Kelley Griggs’ Post

Techstars Oakland Announces the Newest Class Exciting news from Techstars Oakland powered by J.P. Morgan: We’re thrilled to introduce the newest class of startups! More than just supporting these innovative companies, we’re deeply committed to investing in Oakland and creating a lasting impact on this vibrant community. Techstars Oakland : Where Innovation Meets Opportunity The program offers unparalleled access to mentorship, resources, and support. We’re dedicated to accelerating the growth of these startups and contributing to Oakland’s economic and social development. Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our mission, ensuring that underrepresented and often overlooked founders have a platform to thrive. Partnering for a Better Future Our collaboration with J.P. Morgan underscores our commitment to diversity and inclusion, key drivers of innovation and growth. J.P. Morgan provides an integrated suite of services, including banking, wealth management, and advisory solutions, helping build a more inclusive and innovative future for Oakland and beyond. Meet the Techstars Oakland Spring Class Cadena S.A. (New York City, NY): Fun, snackable AI courses for those overwhelmed by learning about AI. Chambr (Techstars '23) (San Francisco, CA): Pitch practice for sales teams to close more deals. COEXIST (San Francisco, CA): An all-in-one hub for busy families to manage home life. Cuál Corp (Los Angeles, CA): The Yelp for Hispanics, offering a platform for community reviews. Cut + Clarity (New York City, NY): Sustainable, customizable fine jewelry creating opportunities for women. Fundwurx (Techstars '23) (New York City, NY): Streamlined CSR management for businesses. grandstage trading (Brooklyn, NY): A content marketing copilot reducing content creation time by 75%. Little Otter (Toronto, Canada): Personalized guidance for new parents navigating parenthood. NALA (Miami, FL): SaaS solution revolutionizing talent management with machine learning and predictive insights. PerformVu (Brooklyn, NY): A streaming platform for performance and video art from top artists and institutions. Skyblue Analytics (Montevideo, Uruguay): Customized white-label solutions for financial companies lacking investment infrastructure. WXLLSPACE (Atlanta, GA): Connecting real estate developers with budget-friendly mural artists. Techstars Oakland is more than a program; it's a movement toward a more inclusive, innovative, and prosperous future. What startup are you most excited about? Let us know! More insightful: #MondayFunding #StepUpOne #Techstars Oakland

Building a startup community is harder than it looks. But what if the secret lies in the lessons we learn from the failures and successes along the way? Creating a thriving startup community isn’t about building another coworking space or hosting endless meetups. It’s about fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and shared ambition. One critical lesson? Start small but think big. Focus on building genuine relationships and celebrating early wins. Another? Diversity isn’t just a buzzword—it’s the engine of innovation. Communities flourish when people from different backgrounds, industries, and perspectives come together to share ideas and challenge norms. And most importantly? Give before you get. The best startup ecosystems are built by people who contribute without expecting immediate returns. Whether it’s mentorship, introductions, or feedback, generosity always pays off in the long run. A strong community doesn’t happen overnight, but with the right mindset and consistent effort, it becomes a powerful force for collective success. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned about building a community—startup or otherwise? #article • #community • #startup • #lonov24

Now that Tech Week Grand Rapids 2024 is over, we all have a responsibility to keep the momentum going. Huge shoutout to everyone who came together to make it happen and to go first! Thanks to the team at the The Right Place, Inc., Jennifer Wangler, Randy Thelen, and so many more that made this happen. It’s a real testament to what we can achieve as a community. But let’s be clear—this can’t be a “see you next year” kind of thing. We can't sit back and wait for someone else to put on another event or for those at the top to drive change. We have to keep pushing forward. And that means being inclusive—not just tech startups, but all startups, from all industries. This isn’t just a top-down approach. We need grassroots efforts from founders at all levels. This is a challenge to fellow founders: keep stepping up, keep building events and bringing people together. There are cost-effective ways to do it that don't require a big budget. It’s also a challenge to myself and to other investors. There's a lot of wealth in this community, but we need to educate those unfamiliar with early-stage investing. Yes, it’s high risk, and yes, your capital may be tied up for 10+ years. But the potential return? 10X, and that could shape future generations. Many have made their money in real estate, construction, manufacturing—industries that have been steady over time. But that doesn’t mean things can’t evolve. For a startup community to truly thrive, it needs: Entrepreneurial Leadership: Entrepreneurs must take the lead. Government, universities, and investors play a role, but founders must drive the community. Long-Term Commitment: Building a startup ecosystem doesn’t happen overnight. We need to think in terms of 20+ years, not 24 months. It’s about continuity, trust, and resilience. Inclusiveness: We need to be open to anyone willing to engage, regardless of background or experience. Diversity fuels innovation and opportunity. Engagement Across the Board: Mentors, investors, government, and universities all need to collaborate. The best ecosystems thrive on partnership, not competition. The future of this community is bright, but it depends on everyone taking a role and continuing to step up—this includes me.

What have I learned after working with 300+ tech startup founders through the FOR-M incubator? 🙌 Community Matters More 🙌 Wait... More than the business model? More than the growth strategy? More than getting the first customer? More than the idea itself?!? In the early stages.... yeah! It's a community's ability to make connections, provide support, offer feedback, and lend advice that *really* matters for an early-stage founder. It's a powerful - and fast - litmus test. It's all the stuff you can't find in the right YouTube video or the right book. There's plenty of great content out there, but those videos and books aren't going to sit down with you to whiteboard things out. They won't help you get the connections you need or help you take your next step. They definitely won't pick you up when you hit a roadblock and are thinking about giving up on your dream. A great community will do all of that. And that's why it matters more. It's also why we invest our energy in fostering a strong #mketech community. We're kicking off our TENTH cohort of the FOR-M Startup Incubator next month and we're hosting another Founders Day next week. Join us! 🙌 Apply for the FOR-M Incubator: https://lnkd.in/geg-G5ba (spots are filling fast) 🙌 Register for Founders Day on August 28th: https://lnkd.in/gEMpC8pk ------------------------------------ These efforts are made possible by MKE Tech Hub Coalition Margarida Fernandes Midwest Founders Community Ward 4 CSA Partners, LLC MKEStartup.News and many others working hard to grow our community!

Hi Network, need your brains for our upcoming Startup Community Awards. Every year we try to have an additional factor in forms of art, giving back or an engagement activity. We have experimented with letters to the community, artists to be included in the gala and featured local startup businesses throughout our gala. We want to keep continuing with what Denis calls WoW factor ;) We have few things in mind, we want to feature local artists, businesses in the gala, have community more involved with the engagement activities and use the opportunity to also share a social/public message. Limited $$$, as you know MNT is always known for doing huge things at very low $$$, we still believe in doing that, we need community help :) We need ideas, contacts, hands to help execute things. If you have seen something cool in the past, have an idea in mind and want to come execute with us, know someone we should talk to or just want to give us a constructive feedback, please write her or ping me/Denis. cc- Denis Luchyshyn Ruth Nieto Córdova

Here in Minnesota, the tech and startup community has entered something of a dark ages. Where does a founder go to meet other founders? The amount of startup events happening is way down from 2019. Meetups are almost entirely dormant vs 2019. We're losing WeWorks. The opportunities for founders to get together with other founders is few and far between. It would be my honor if you would let any founders that you know that in two week is one of these rare chances. WHEN: Wed, May 22nd, all day WHERE: CHS Field St. Paul, MN WHAT: 200 founders and investors all under one roof Enterprise Rising Conference 2024 Any entrepreneur will get massive value out of it. LinkedIn, for all of it's annoyances, does one thing right: you can easily share (via DM or repost or however is easiest for you) the below event to any founders that you care about. Do you know any founders that are hard at work changing the world? Please let them know there's an entire community ready to help them. Please share.

Ted Velie You are absolutely right! I think we don't acknowledge how active we truly are in the Midwest. It could be that "work hard, stay humble culture" that we have developed, but it is great to see that the active voice we so liberally use with sports teams has started permeating into the startup culture. Because you know what the Midwest is? Young and Restless... "Anyone who has spent any time in and around innovation circles within the Midwest has certainly heard about the things we lack as compared to the coasts. Founders will tell you that “there just isn’t enough capital.” Investors will say “the quantity and quality of the startups” doesn’t compare. And someone looking in from the outside might let you know that “there just isn’t the talent” needed to create scalable businesses." - Dug Song co founder of Duo Security In his substack Finding The Verbs at Michigan Tech Week Ted Velie points out that we need to spend more time thinking about verbs here in the Midwest: "Now I’ve got thoughts on all three of those sentiments, but it’s certainly true that those “nouns”: Capital, Startups, Talent are what we often hear about when discussing the shortfalls of the region’s startup communities. Dug, god love him, likes to remind us that we can’t forget about the verbs when we’re talking about building ecosystems. And you don’t need to know that I used to be an English teacher to know I’m into the verbs: Connect, Promote, & Advocate." - Ted Velie Co-founder Midwest House Full article here: https://lnkd.in/ewFkW9GY I am proud to startup here with Alisio, to advocate for startups with Plug and Play Tech Center, and to promote the Detroit ecosystem with Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council and City of Detroit 🎥 Midwest House 🎵 Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony "C-Town" #DetroitHustlesHarder #DetroitStartups

Startup Boston's Community Awards are BACK. It's time to recognize the movers and shakers of the New England startup ecosystem 😎 Nominate your peers and colleagues (a.k.a. the movers and shakers of the startup community) across 9 Categories come April 8th! You'll have 11 days to nominate folks before our three judges narrow all nominations down to the top three in each category. This will then be opened to a vote and you, the startup community, will be able to vote on who best represents the New England startup community across all 9 Categories. Key dates to remember: 🌟 April 8th - Nominations Open & Categories are Announced (watch the video for a sneak peak at our categories!) 🌟 April 19th - Nominations Close 🌟 May 13th - Voting Opens 🌟 May 24th - Voting Closes 🌟 May 30th - Winners Announced We're excited to recognize you - and for you to recognize your peers. Give us a follow here on LinkedIn so you don't miss out on when the form to nominate is OPEN on April 8th 🏆 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dkfhMMZ

I remember attending a Techstars event where selected companies were showcased. I was to attend a private dinner afterwards with many of the investors and potential investors as the organization I worked for had a very layered relationship with Techstars. A few things I noticed that was consistent throughout my experience in my latter years of my fundraising career:  - While programs like Techstars offer invaluable resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities, they often fall short in providing equitable access to all aspiring entrepreneurs. The stark underrepresentation of people of color in these programs is not merely a coincidence but a reflection of deeply ingrained systemic inequalities. - White-led organizations will swear up and down there isn't money to invest in BIPOC entrepreneurship but will have the most lavish of events with flowing free likka (beverages of the alcoholic variety) and the best audiovisuals. The food still be missing the mark most of the time but at least it is expensive, high quality fare, even if unseasoned.  - Leadership and decision-makers at these white led organizations often get aggravated when you point these things out. They may possibly get extra big feelings if the messenger is a Black woman tasked to secure seven figure gifts. These experiences have helped color how I show up in rooms now as a businessowner, entrepreneur, equity champion, philanthropy consultant and forever advocate for our planet. I also learned that a real boss always brings her own seasonings. https://lnkd.in/ehTmZQ7t #tech #entrepreneur #farmer #farmercee #greenheffafarms #socialimpact #agripreneur #organic #regenerative #layers

The Dark Side of Techstars: Post-Program Solitude. Graduating from the vibrant ecosystem of Techstars NYC, where ideas and support flow freely, to the quieter, more solitary phase of entrepreneurship, marks a significant, often unspoken transition. The departure from Techstars brings a stark contrast: the energetic support network is replaced by the solitude of decision-making and leadership. The entrepreneurial path is as much about discovering oneself as it is about creating a business. It teaches us about our limits, our strengths, and the value of connection. So, to my fellow entrepreneurs and CEOs feeling the weight of solitude, remember: you are not alone in feeling alone. Stay connected, even as we go our separate ways. To those who came before us, how have you managed this transition and kept the spirit of community alive in your entrepreneurial journey?