David Tisch of TechStars NYC #143

 

TWiST Episode #143 with David Tisch, Managing Director of TechStars NYC
Today, Jason welcomes David Tisch, a man on the front lines of id’ing and cultivating new startup talent in New York City today. David discusses TechStars first NYC class and the value that the legendary incubator brings to the table. 

Support This Week in Startups and independent media by joining our Producer Program at twistlist.co!

1:00-2:00 Welcome and introduction of guest David Tisch.
2:00-3:30 Explanation of the TWiST List, the group of supporters who also help produce the show. Go to TwistList.co to join!
3:30-5:45 Ad for Trada, the crowd-sources, pay-per-click marketplace.
5:45-6:30 Introduction of David, Managing Director of TechStars NYC.
6:30-7:00 You just had the first class in NYC, yes? Describe the TechStars program.
7:00-8:00 How much money do you give the companies?
8:00-8:30 How many companies of the 600 that applied were angel-ready?
8:30-8:45 How do you narrow the field from 300 down to 50 companies?
8:45-10:00 What are you looking for in the prototype?
10:00-11:00 It’s not about great ideas as much it’s about great execution, right?
11:00-12:15 Were you inspired by the YCombinator program?
12:15-12:45 Is there any bad blood between the two companies (YC and TechStars)?
12:45-13:00 Do people apply to both?
13:00-14:15 In terms of physical space, do people come every day to the office?
14:15-15:45 How many people came to investor (demo) day?
15:45-16:15 How many of those are legitimate angels?
16:15-17:15 Do you pre-screen everyone?
17:15-18:00 How many of the 11 companies got funded?
18:00-18:30 So maybe it’s a compelling idea ahead of it’s time?
18:30-19:15 If Zuckerberg showed FaceMash, how would he have been received on demo day? (Watch the clip.)
19:15-20:00 What’s the equity that you get for your investment?
20:00-21:00 How would the equity break up after an A round?
21:00-21:45 So in a way, you could get into an early round for an entrepreneur’s second company?
21:45-23:30 What’s your reaction to Yuri and Ron’s $150k investment in each TechStars company?
23:30-24:15 Is this deal forever? And is it a healthy thing for the ecosystem?
24:15-24:30 Will this scare away other good angels?
24:30-25:30 If you had an extra $10M would you do something like that?
25:30-26:15 You don’t really think this is good for the ecosystem, do you? (Watch the clip.)
26:15-28:00 Ad for MailChimp, which had a 100% free plan for lists up to 2000 subscribers large.
28:00-31:00 Introduction of TWiST fan Ryan Esaki.
31:00-31:30 How’s the island of Kauai since the real estate bubble burst?
31:30-32:00 Ryan: Favorite episode was the Penn State talk.
32:00-34:00 Ryan presents Jason with a poi pounder made by his father and chocolate from Hawaii. (Watch the clip.)
34:00-35:00 Jason: What you’ve done today makes me feel so good and is very touching.
35:00-35:30 Jason discusses the recent Forbes article written about him as host.
35:30-36:15 Back to the Yuri/Ron discussion: Would you give money blindly?
36:15-38:00 You agree that giving everyone money blindly is not a good idea, yes?
38:00-39:30 As an angel investor, what’s the best thing to see in a pitch?
39:30-41:00 What’s the most psychotic thing someone has ever done to get your attention?
41:00-42:30 You don’t invest in business plans, do you?
42:30-43:15 I’ve never invested in a deck, but you would consider it?
43:15-44:45 How important is it to be flexible?
44:45-46:00 Why are some entrepreneurs not able to pivot?
46:00-47:15 Entrepreneurs need to have the flexibility to change and adapt based on new conditions.
47:15-48:30 What I’m hearing is that it’s not the most brilliant idea, it’s the execution? (Watch the clip.)
48:30-49:00 What are the markets you’re looking at now that you wish a team was going after?
49:00-51:00 Is there any more room in the deals space or is it too crowded?
51:00-51:30 If JetBlue had wifi, I would drive back down to Long Beach.
51:30-53:15 Jason and David talk poker.
53:15-54:45 What’s your biggest miss as an angel investor?
54:45-55:15 Thank you to TWiST fan Ryan!
55:15-57:15 David talks about his family and his goals as an entrepreneur and investor.
57:15-59:30 David relays the story of the company Veri that participated in the first winter TechStars NYC class.
59:30-1:00:00 Have they closed their round yet?
1:00:00-1:00:45 David explains how Veri pivoted within the TS program.
1:00:45-1:02:15 So the information is there, but it’s not organized or curated properly?
1:02:15-1:02:30 Outside of classroom eduction is wide open right now.
1:02:30-1:03:30 Thank you again to TWiST fan Ryan.
1:04:30-1:04:45 Thank you to Trada and MailChimp.
1:04:45-1:06:00 Reminder to check out TwistList.co.
1:06:00-1:06:30 Jason does an impromptu ad for Veri.com.
1:06:30-1:07:15 Jason does an impromptu ad for Shelby.tv.

Multilingual? Translate this episode of TWiST into another language and email the transcript to translate@thisweekin.com

FOLLOW ON TWITTER

Jason: @jason
David: @davetisch
TechStars: @techstars

Special Thanks to the TWiST List Team!
Executive Producers

• Louis-Eric Simard
• Benjamin Gifford
• Jacek Artymiak
• Octavian Mihai
• Will Paoletto
• Geoffrey Clapp
• Eien Hyett
• Jeff Hoffer
• Kyle Lonzo
• Austin Miller
• Rashaun Sourles
• Robb Kunz
• Greg Berry
• Sean Lynch
• Mary Ann Halford
• Jim Joyce
• Morgan Howard
• Margaret Johns

Producers

• Eli Coler
• Ted Inoue
• Radek Rybicki
• Hunter Owens
• Christian Owens
• Ben Altieri
• Casey Wach
• Cam Collins
• Ildar Khakimov
• Matti Hallanoro
• Rodrigo Dauster
• Rodrigo Fuentes

Associate Producers

• Brad Pineau
• Kat Ganesan
• Nicholas Christian
• Mau Frontier
• Kyle Braatz
• Serena Ehrlich
• Nathan Hangen
• Lauri Hahne
• JD
• Trudy Baidoo

Supporters

• Ryan Hoover
• Michael Cranston
• Josiah Thomas
• João Fernandes
• Petrus Theron
• Michael Wild
• Adrian Grant
• Dale Emmons
• Kieran McGrady

Background on David and TechStars
About David

• Managing Director of TechStars NYC since August 2010
• Previously Exec. VP at KGB (directory assistance/deals), out of which he spun out and co-founded the startup KnowMore.com
• Grew KnowMore.com to 17 people before he left
• Also Principal at the Box Group, where he angel invests
• First angel investment was to Boxee in 2007; has done 33 deals since, including Flavors.me, GroupMe and The Shared Web
• First startup was LightsOver, which bundled services to sell to large, doorman-manned buildings in NYC
• Got 6 months in with a prototype before he realized he wasn’t clicking with other two founders (who were also friends)
• Grad of NYU’s School of Law; practiced law for “about 10 minutes”
• Says he’s surrounded himself with tech startups and tech since childhood
• Grew up in Westchester County

About TechStars NYC

• First NYC class ran Jan.-April of this year; had 11 companies (including Immersive Labs)
• Estimates 7-9 of the companies will be funded; approx. $20M+ in total investments from both east and west coast VCs
• Each co. meets 70 mentors; all 11 companies finished with 5-10 committed mentors
• There’s a 250 person mentor wait list in NYC; 95% of current mentors are NYC-based
• 3 companies pivoted while within the program: Veri, Nestpio and Shelby
• Joel Spolsky mentored Veri and made his first angel investment in the company
• NYC summer class begins July 11, 2011, runs into October
• Summer class has had over 500 applicants for 10-12 spots
• Says program is structurally identical to Boulder, but culturally adapted to suit NYC

About TechStars

• Founded by angel investor and entrepreneur David Cohen in 2007
• Four cities: Boulder, Seattle, Boston and now NYC
• Offers up to $18k in seed funding, three months of mentorship and an audience of angels and VCs for “demo day”
• Has 22 accelerators in the U.S. and abroad (China, Denmark, Spain, Singapore) in its network