When it comes to building a startup, timing and support can make all the difference. For founders Joe Toscano and Anur Becirovic, joining the Techstars Startup Community Partnership Founder Catalyst Fall 2025 Program was the spark they needed to refine their products, connect with mentors, and accelerate their growth.

Both founders entered the program at pivotal moments, right after major pivots in their business models, and are developing sharper focus, stronger networks, and renewed confidence in their missions.

Their journeys reflect the mission of Techstars itself: help founders succeed.

Turning Everyday Work Into AI-Powered Content

Joe Toscano, CEO and founder of Service Stories, helps service-based businesses transform the everyday work they’re already doing into digital content that ranks in search and shows up in AI-generated answers.

“You go to an auto shop,” Joe explained. “You pull your car up, they ask you what you're seeing, what you're hearing. They take some photos. They make a list of things that need to be done, and they put that into their management system so they can get the job done. What we do is we integrate with that management system. We grab that data and instead of making up content, we turn that exact story into a blog post, into a Facebook post, into whatever content you need to reach your audience, to rank higher in search algorithms, and to get featured in services like ChatGPT.”

That innovation, which turns real work into content, landed Service Stories in the Founder Catalyst program at just the right time.

“We needed a program that could help us take a concept we had just pivoted into and refine it and sharpen it and make our messaging better and prepare us for investor conversations,” said Joe.

Empowering Coaches and Psychologists Through Digital Tools

For Anur Becirovic, co-founder of Comit, the journey was about transforming his passion for psychology and coaching into a scalable digital platform.

“Comit is a platform where experts like psychologists and coaches can get matched with their clients and communicate through different tools to achieve their goals,” said Anur.

Anur joined Founder Catalyst after pivoting from a self-help app to a platform for professionals. “The timing was perfect,” he said. “I started applying all the things that I learned just after two weeks of the program, and I already saw a lot of improvements.”

Inside the Founder Catalyst Experience

Both founders emphasized the quality and timing of the program content.

“The best thing with the program is that it is just enough content for you to actually start using it that week,” said Anur. “If we're talking about some financial modeling or about structuring the website . . . you can get prepared and already start using these techniques and methods for your startup.”

For Joe, the accountability and network were game changers. “It's not that we couldn't have done this,” he said. "It's that this is accelerating us and it's refining us much faster because we're getting so many different angles. And that's exactly why we wanted to come in. We wanted the deadlines. We wanted the multiple angles of feedback, and we wanted to sharpen this fast."

The Power of the Network

Both founders pointed to the Techstars network as one of the most valuable aspects of the experience so far.

“I talk with a lot of mentors,” said Anur. “I think that's the best part with this whole program because in general networking is the key for success and Techstars is really giving us this platform to actually get these contacts much easier and to get contact with people that we probably would never have a chance to talk with because of their busy schedule."

Joe shared: “I think the best part about the Techstars network is that we have a lot of qualified professionals in it. It is not people who don't know what they're doing. So, every time I get on a call, I'm getting value. I really appreciate that our time feels like it's meaningful, and I'm excited to have them in our network because you can't grow a business without a network."

Big Wins and Bigger Lessons

For Joe, the most tangible win was clear: “The biggest learning that we've had is actually just a re-education of things we already knew but were reinforced. For example, we won the Startup Pitch Week here in Nebraska. And to prepare for it, I lined up a call with Zoe, our program manager, the morning that we were going to pitch. And she looked at our pitch deck and sliced it in half. And we threw it away and rebuilt it that morning. Because of her advice, we took what was a good technical story and turned it into an accessible pitch story, which then connected with the judges and the audience, and definitely helped us win."

For Anur, the program’s impact was transformative: “I got a lot of insights that gave me the courage to actually shift immediately, and in just a couple of weeks, I got maybe 20 or 30 interviews with all the experts and psychologists and therapists that are going to use my platform really soon and I'm going to onboard them and have quite a good starting point for for my business.”

Building Thriving Startup Communities

Both founders also spoke about the broader impact of Techstars expanding into their regions, Omaha, Nebraska, and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as part of Techstars Startup Community Partnerships.

“I was born and raised in Omaha,” said Joe. “I moved away . . . because there was no opportunity for me when I was younger, and I moved back to help bring energy here, to get that opportunity and keep people staying here. So when I heard that Techstars was moving in, I was so excited. . . To be able to show Techstars and the network that something is happening in Omaha, that was a blessing in itself.”

Techstars’ arrival in Sarajevo was just as meaningful for Anur: “There was no big startup scene here and I was always passionate about startups . . . I actually moved to Sweden and lived there for three years because there was a much bigger startup scene. But I came back after a while and . . . I was so happy to see that big companies like Techstars are coming here . . . Hopefully, people will find much better opportunities here and have more motivation to build their own startups here."

Advice for Fellow Founders

When asked what advice they’d give to new entrepreneurs, both shared practical, hard-won wisdom.

“Go out and try to sell the product before you have it. That felt really strange to me in the beginning. The whole concept of I'm going to sell you something that's not real. But the fact is, it's very likely that what you're doing, you could somehow do without all the automations or without all the software,” said Joe. "There are some products you can't, right? But if you can go out and try to sell it, and if you can't make it something that people can understand, and ask them if this was ready in 6 months, would you buy it? And get them to put in 500 bucks or whatever the number is that you do on a pre-sale because that's going to help you so much when it comes to getting traction, proving to investors, whatever it may be. Just compiling that and getting that support is the best way you can start your company."

Anur’s advice: “Don't overthink it. Just create with all the tools available today. You can create a clickable prototype in less than a day using your words, and just go and book a lot of meetings with your potential clients and show them the prototype. They will see the vision, and you will be able to actually communicate and use them as your first test customers.”

Looking Ahead

Both founders will finish the Founder Catalyst program in December and are already focused on what’s next. Joe is doubling down on sales and building case studies, while Anur plans to onboard his first paying clients by the end of the program.

As they move forward, both agree that the biggest takeaway from Founder Catalyst wasn’t just knowledge, it was momentum.

“Being inside of the program has helped us a lot, and having the accountability of deadlines and people staring at us has really cranked up that pressure that we need to move faster,” said Joe.

Anur shared: “The program brought a lot of courage to us to actually go even further through all the borders that we think that we have for ourselves."

About Techstars Founder Catalyst

Techstars Founder Catalyst is a pre-accelerator program designed to help early-stage founders refine their business models, strengthen their networks, and prepare for growth.

About Techstars Startup Community Partnerships

A Techstars Startup Community Partnership is the smart advantage to elevate your local entrepreneurial ecosystem on a global level. We demystify the chaos of startup community building by providing the tools, resources, and over 20 years of global expertise required to nurture your city's best founders and create a thriving startup community for the future.

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