A Common App for Incubators: TechStars Takes the Harvard Approach

Adrianne Jeffries — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:25:01 -0400

The recently announced "TechStars network" now includes 21 incubators across the world: the four original TechStars in New York, Boston, Seattle and Boulder as well as 17 independent incubators chosen by review.

But those 17 new incubators all have different application processes. Blueprint Health, in New York, limits its application to less than 1,000 words; BoomStartup in Salt Lake City wants to know how many lines of code you've written, what books about startups inspired you and a slew of other questions with no maximum word count. The TechStars application wants you to describe your company in 140 characters and then answer six essay questions.

This disparate application process is one of the things the new network will streamline. A $200,000 grant from the Kauffman Foundation will pay for the creation of a common application process to be used throughout the network and outside, if other incubators choose to adopt it.

TechStars NY accepted 11 companies to its first class of startups this year. The program is in its second month.

ajeffries [at] observer.com | @adrjeffries

Observer » A Common App for Incubators: TechStars Takes the Harvard Approach

A Common App for Incubators: TechStars Takes the Harvard Approach