to continue to back companies through Series A. It’s a little bit of a different game. We’re just bringing more resources to the table for companies in the ecosystem.
X: Even though the economy is booming right now, how do you—if you do—prepare for a possible downturn?
DC: We definitely know we’re at a high point in the cycle. I think the Techstars business is in a great position because, just this year, we did a closing of a $150 million fund. We have plenty of capital to ride through something like that. We won’t react to macroeconomic stuff. That has nothing to do with startups. The best companies often get started in downturns. Our strategy would just be to play through it. We have the resources and balance sheet to do that.
X: What about for your portfolio companies?
DC: It’s the same advice, which is always good advice: Don’t overspend. That’s something you can always manage. Raise a little bit more money while you can. It’s a really good market to raise money in. A lot of people worry about a macroeconomic downturn, and of course they should. But 2014 was the biggest year ever on file for venture capital being raised from limited partners. There’s four times the amount of seed money this year than there was last year. Those funds don’t get deployed this year, it takes four to five years. There’s going to be lots of money out there for good companies, even if something happens over the next few years.
X: You’ve worked on expanding the various types of accelerators offered. How did the first Qualcomm Robotics Accelerator program go?
DC: It was a pretty typical first program. There’s some things that didn’t work, some things that are very promising. We were pleased with the outcome.
X: Do you think developing hardware with embedded software can work in the Techstars model?
DC: For us, it’s more thematic. The idea that we get to go invest in robots is exciting. It’s a funny one because “robots” sounds futuristic, but you have one in your house: a dishwasher. We don’t think of it as a robot, but that’s what it is. It’s just a smart machine. I think hardware is hard. It’s harder to get funded, and it’s harder to cross that gap with all the inventory, production costs you have. You have to be smart about it. We’ve also done an Internet of Things, IoT, accelerator. A lot of those companies have gone on to do really well. Certainly they won’t all make it. That’s the nature of startups.
X: How did the Techstars Mobility accelerator in Detroit go?
DC: That was super exciting. Detroit is one of those places where it’s such a no-brainer to be involved in the community. So much good will pouring into it, so much renaissance. We saw tremendous investor interest there, tremendous corporate interest. I think some very real programs are going to come out of it. We got applications from like 50 countries. We had a high volume of applicants and, more importantly, high quality. We ended up with what exceeded my expectations for the program.
X: You’ve said you’re taking a little time off. Why and how hard is it to free up your schedule to get away?
DC: I’m doing it because I think it’s healthy. It’s not a super long one, but it’s just totally getting away from work. It’s been 8 years. We’re very conscious of that need to step back and rejuvenate. Techstars is 130 people now. We have a top-notch management team in place. It’s no problem. We’re bigger than one person. It’s exciting to get a little time away. I’m very confident that things will run smoothly.
