After three long months of toiling away at 36 Cooper Square, TechStars NYC’s spring 2012 class is finally ready to say, “Hello, world.” Or rather, “Show me the money.” This morning, 13 startups will present their exhaustively-rehearsed pitches to a crowd of more than 700 for the program’s third Demo Day. (Check out our live-blog from Webster Hall.)
Back in March, managing director David Tisch promised us his most visionary class yet. “They all take big swings,” he told Betabeat. “I think the ideas are all going for something big. I don’t think there are lot of safe bets or small bets.”
It certainly seems like a more ambitious lot. The companies were chosen from 1,600 applicants. Five of them have a female cofounder; four of those cofounders are CEOs of their startups. (Initially, there were five female CEOs, including StockTouch cofounder Jennifer Johnson, but after being accepted, StockTouch did not end up participating in the program. Mr. Tisch told us the decision was mutual.)
Some of the startups have already raised funds, including announcements from Condition One, Rewind.Me, and Bondsy this week. For the rest, the pressure is on. Luckily, they’ve had mentoring from Alley bigwigs like Kevin Ryan, Dennis Crowley, Fred Wilson, and David Karp to prepare them.
Which startup scored The Thin Red Line director Terrence Malick as a client? Which founder was embedded in Afghanistan? Which service is helping your favorite hipster brunch spot in Wiliamsburg? Which founder pissed off the authorities in Rio? Which startup started as a hack at a GitHub conference? Which founder insisted we use a still from a Wes Anderson flick to illustrate his company? Only the slideshow will tell.
Jessica Roy and Adrianne Jeffries contributed to this story.