Investment Manager, Techstars
Seed startup accelerator
Job no longer available
Seed startup accelerator
501-1000 employees
Job no longer available
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To invest in an unprecedented number of startups per year to enable more capital to flow to more entrepreneurs around the world in order to deliver exceptional returns to our investors.
Role
Who you are
- Are deeply embedded in founder worlds. You live inside startup communities, not VC circles, and you care more about founder trust than investor status
- Are deeply tech-curious, hyper-curious by nature, and a structured, analytical thinker. You dive into how things work, explore new products and markets constantly, and use data to guide judgment. A technical background is a bonus
- Have a builder’s instinct. You do not wait for permission. You hustle and are highly resourceful
- Have prior investment experience via a fund, as an angel, or as a scout
- Operate with speed as a default. You respond in hours, not days. You bias toward action and iteration over waiting for perfect information
- Hold a high bar for excellence. You care deeply about the quality of your work, seek feedback, and continuously raise your own standards
- Are deeply empathetic. You stay calm in ambiguity and can hold founder anxiety without amplifying it
- Treat this as a vocation, not a job. You do what it takes when it matters and understand that elite founder support does not fit neatly into a 9–5
- Bring real early-stage experience. You’ve lived inside the zero-to-one journey as a founder, early employee, operator, scout, or early investor, and you understand fundraising from the inside
- Are reliable, hyper-organised, and tools-fluent. You do not drop balls. Your systems hold under pressure
- 6+ years of experience across startups, product, engineering, operations, or early-stage investing
- Comfortable working with senior founders, operators, and investors
- Comfortable with ambiguity and rapid pace
- Willing to travel up to 30 percent
- We’re looking for someone with strong builder instincts and investment experience. Founder or early startup experience is a major plus
What the job involves
- We are looking for an Investor to work directly alongside the Managing Director in London. This is a dual investor–operator role combining early-stage investing with hands-on delivery of value for founders through our accelerator program
- 1. Find and Back Exceptional Founders
- Build relationships with founders across events, communities, and online platforms
- Source companies through organic relationships, direct outreach, referrals, and inbound applications
- Run high-quality diligence across team, market, and product
- Write clear, rigorous investment memos and support selection decisions
- 2. Support Founders Through Fundraising and Beyond
- Partner with founders on pitch decks, data rooms, and investor preparation
- Build and maintain a strong VC network for follow-on financing and make timely investor introductions
- Build and manage a high-quality angel network to support early capital needs
- Stay closely connected to companies post-program, tracking progress and unlocking capital, talent, and partnerships
- Assess which companies benefit from deeper support and global Techstars opportunities
- 3. Run a World-Class Accelerator Experience
- Own and manage the full program calendar, mentor pipelines, workshops, and investor sessions
- Ensure smooth operations across tools, data, scheduling, and communications
- Run events, including founder and community events - including a founder kite surfing trip and retreat,
- 4. Nurture Our Mentor Network
- Proactively build and deepen relationships with high-quality mentors
- Onboard top operators and exited founders across the European ecosystem
- Match mentors to companies based on real use-case fit
- Continuously raise the bar on mentor quality
Salary benchmarks
Our take
Techstars runs a startup acceleration program that guides aspiring entrepreneurs in launching their startups successfully. Each year, Techstars selects a number of early-stage companies to participate in a 3-month accelerator programme, which includes $120K in funding, mentorship, and financial support.
In response to the rapid pace of technological innovation, generating numerous new ideas, Techstar recognises the potential of many promising concepts going unnoticed. By investing both financially and inspirationally in startups, Techstars aims to not only support these ventures but also generate significant returns through equity investments.
Due to funding difficulties, Techstars decided to close several of its European accelerator programmes in 2026, shifting its focus from quantity to quality. It still runs out of New York, Amsterdam and London, and despite global funding challenges, maintains its reputation as a leader in startup acceleration.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
24% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Company HQ
Little Brazil, New York, NY
Leadership
David Cohen
(Co-Founder & CEO)Having studied at the University of Central Florida, they worked as a Software Engineer and spent 4 years at Automated Dispatch Services. They then founded ZOLL Data Systems, Pinpoint Technologies, and more.
Brad Feld
(Co-Founder)Previously a Managing Director at Softbank Technology Ventures, Mobius Venture Capital and Intensity Ventures.
David Brown
(Co-Founder & Board Member)Previously Founded iCentric Foundation and served as the President at Zoll. Currently, they are an Adjunct Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Partner at Zintinus.
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