Back in 2007, Techstars portfolio company Socialthing completed the Techstars Boulder Accelerator and was soon acquired by AOL, marking the first portfolio company exit for Techstars — and the beginning of the annual Gold Shirt ceremony. Each year, Techstars celebrates portfolio companies that have had an exit by presenting them with a gold shirt.

The tradition continued this year as we honored 33 portfolio companies' exits in 2023.

During the virtual celebration held on July 25, Techstars CEO David Cohen spoke about the ups and downs founders face from idea to exit. "This is all about just celebrating the journey," he said. "Some of those journeys are amazing. Some of the journeys are really tough — and probably really, they're all amazing and really tough at the same time. That's what entrepreneurship is."

Cohen also talked to founders about this being a great moment to celebrate the mentors who helped them in their journey.

"It's a great way to give back in the spirit of the Give First that they gave you. Techstars doesn't work without mentors, as you all know, and they make a lot of magic happen," said Cohen.

Founders also took time during an open forum and in smaller breakout groups to share their own personal experiences going through an exit. Many shared pivots they made along their journey, stories of moving their business and family to another country, and the highs and lows of going through the deal process — but what remained clear throughout the event was the power of the Techstars network.

"Thanks for believing in the magic of what we do together as a network, and thanks for continuing to lean into it," Cohen said in closing.

Read More