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Insights & Trends

The Thief in Every Founder's Pocket
Insights & Trends

The Thief in Every Founder's Pocket

Comparison is stealing your joy: the founder two years ahead of you is running a different race, at a different speed, toward a different finish line, so borrowing their scoreboard to grade your own game only makes you feel small.

September 14, 2026
This Is the First Founder Class That Doesn't Need a Backlog
Insights & Trends

This Is the First Founder Class That Doesn't Need a Backlog

Techstars Founder & CEO David Cohen reflects on how AI is reshaping the earliest days of building a startup.

September 11, 2026
The Drive-Time Test for Startup Community Reach
Insights & Trends

The Drive-Time Test for Startup Community Reach

Two centers competing for the same 40-minute radius will split a small ecosystem into two smaller, weaker ones.

September 7, 2026
Kill Your Own Darlings Before Someone Else Does
Insights & Trends

Kill Your Own Darlings Before Someone Else Does

The best community builders I know aren't the ones with the loudest newsletter. They're the ones who ask a lot of questions and actually change course based on the answers.

August 31, 2026
The Leader Trap: Lots of Vision — No Collaboration
Insights & Trends

The Leader Trap: Lots of Vision — No Collaboration

Great ecosystems are made up of many leaders who are both driven by their vision and collaborative in applying their vision.

August 24, 2026
Beyond Demo Day Sorting and Value Added in Startup Accelerators graph
Insights & Trends

Why 60% to 80% of Accelerators Fail Founders, and How the Best Multiply Their Success

Here's what the research says about the real value of an accelerator, and why picking the right partner makes all the difference.

August 21, 2026
Give First Week: Why Startup Communities Are a Founder's Cheat Code
Insights & Trends

Give First Week: Why Startup Communities Are a Founder's Cheat Code

Building a company is often treated as a solo sport, but Chris Heivly and Katie Smith make the case that your startup community might be the biggest shortcut you're not using.

August 3, 2026
I Trusted the Wrong People at MapQuest
Insights & Trends

I Trusted the Wrong People at MapQuest

The deepest trust comes from something else: having actually lived the journey, and being willing to talk about it honestly. Not just the wins. The losses too.

August 3, 2026
The Invisible Rules Preventing Change In Your Startup Community
Insights & Trends

The Invisible Rules Preventing Change In Your Startup Community

True systemic change in a startup community isn't built on isolated programs, but on shifting the invisible norms and daily defaults that drive founder behavior.

July 27, 2026
Chasing Unicorns: The Playbook Behind Techstars' Billion-Dollar Startups
Insights & Trends

Chasing Unicorns: The Playbook Behind Techstars' Billion-Dollar Startups

Why do only a handful of startups become billion-dollar companies while thousands of others stall? David Cohen and Amir Hegazi's new book, "Chasing Unicorns," answers with PRIDE — a five-phase framework drawn from candid interviews with the founders behind 13 Techstars unicorns.

July 21, 2026
Leadership Begins When You Go First
Insights & Trends

Leadership Begins When You Go First

Leadership belongs to the people who host the first meeting, make the first introduction, celebrate someone else's success, or simply welcome the newest entrepreneur into the room.

July 20, 2026
Ask Yourself These 3 Questions If You Want To See Your Ecosystem's Future
Insights & Trends

Ask Yourself These 3 Questions If You Want To See Your Ecosystem's Future

The best startup communities don't all look alike. But they do behave alike.

July 14, 2026