Pre-Seed Funding – The New Friends and Family Round
Techstars Rising Stars is a pre-seed fund investing in underrepresented founders of color in the U.S.
Filling A Crucial Funding Gap for Underrepresented Founders
Friends and family funding is a critical early capital source for many startup founders. While great ideas can come from anywhere and anyone, not everyone has a built-in network they can tap into to bring their company to life. This missing friends and family funding holds back too many historically under-appreciated entrepreneurs in the United States. We aim to change this.
Techstars created Rising Stars to fill this crucial funding gap. Rising Stars is a pre-seed, pre-accelerator fund specifically structured to provide underrepresented founders in the U.S. with access to investment at the very beginning of their startup journey.
Rising Stars invests $100k in promising but overlooked startups that would otherwise be ignored by traditional venture capital. Along with a financial boost, Techstars connects our founders with our worldwide network for unparalleled mentorship, real-world startup know-how, and access to opportunities for growth.
And, selection for Rising Stars puts these founders on the best footing for future consideration to join one of our 50+ accelerator programs located throughout the U.S., and around the world.
Rising Stars may be for you if you are:
Underrepresented
A member of the founding team must be from a historically underrepresented racial or ethnic group (Black, Hispanic and Latino, Indigenous American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and Filipino, Hmong and Vietnamese Asian)
Pre-seed
Your startup should be in the very earliest stages of development and have not previously received outside funding. If your company is more advanced, but still early-stage, consider applying to one of our accelerator programs.
U.S.-based
Rising Stars is exclusively for U.S-based startups. You and your company must be located and operating in the United States.
Unstoppable
Techstars is always seeking founders and teams who demonstrate grit, resilience, and a proven ability to execute against a big vision.
Our Rising Stars Team
Stay Connected
To stay up to date with the latest Rising Stars information, follow us on Twitter - @RisingStars.