Organizer Requirements

Organizing a Startup Week is incredibly rewarding on many levels. It also requires hard work and commitment. So, before you apply, we’d like to share some expectations on organizing. These are six of the most important requirements. 

01. Time Commitment: Organizing a Startup Week is a lot of work. It is recommended to have a lead-time of six months to organize a Startup Week, especially if it’s your first time organizing in your community. 

02. Community & Volunteer Focus: The event should focus 100% on making the community a better place to start a business. It’s also 100% volunteer-run.

03. Knowing Your Local Community: Knowing what experiences, content, and networking opportunities your community needs will be essential in organizing a successful Startup Week event. We believe that having entrepreneurs within the core organizing team helps to reach the startup community. 

04. Strong Core Team: Forming a strong team is one of the most important parts of executing a successful Techstars Startup Week. A core team size of around 8 to 10 members is recommended. Some of the top qualities to look for in a core team include: A strong work ethic, organizational experience, creative problem-solving, industry knowledge, andan entrepreneurial spirit. 

05. Techstars Brand Compliance: All Techstars Startup Week events have to comply with the Techstars brand rules and guidelines. All events are standalone and cannot be co-branded with any organization or entity. 

06. Community Leader Agreement: The lead Startup Week organizer applicant will be required to agree to the Techstars Terms and Conditions l before submitting an application to organize a Startup Week to ensure that you’re aligned with Techstars’ mission, goals, and expectations.

What Matters Most When Building a Team

01. A Shared Passion & Mission

The most successful Startup Week teams share a passion for supporting entrepreneurs and bringing their communities together. They also share a mission to drive positive change by boosting local economic growth and innovation. 

02. A Diverse & Inclusive Approach

Gender and racially diverse teams and companies perform better, and yet, there is a serious diversity challenge within entrepreneurship, and even more so within the technology startup ecosystem. Please see our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Guide for more information and ways to make your event more inclusive. 

03. Commitment to Success

Form a team with those who you trust will see the event through to the end. You’ll have many team meetings in the six months leading up to the event and the entire core team is expected to attend. Look for those with a strong work ethic and those who are committed to the mission and the community.

Your team will be responsible for nearly all aspects of organizing a Startup Week. For example, you’ll need to find sponsorships to cover event costs, secure multiple venues, find local mentors, and so much more. In the following video, you can see a brief overview of the main tasks that you’ll need to complete in the months leading up to your event.