2-min read

Eamonn Carey is the Managing Director at the Techstars London Accelerator. He was previously MD at Techstars Connection in partnership with AB InBev in New York, and has invested in over 40 companies from the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa.

01. What are the key elements you look for when sourcing startups for the Techstars London Accelerator?

Great founding teams with a real passion, an unfair advantage, and some sort of founder/market fit. I love companies where it’s clear that existing or prospective users or clients absolutely love the product or proposition.

02. What are some of the biggest learnings from your career and entrepreneurial journey that you bring to being a Techstars MD?

Not being afraid to talk and to be open. It’s incredibly important for founders to develop trust with their peers, their friends, and us during the program. We can try to help with the things we know about. We can’t help with 100% of the things we don’t.

03. Describe a situation with a startup founder or team where you felt like you made a difference.

I don’t know that I could call out one moment or one company. However, I have been lucky enough to watch the aftermath of thousands of mentor meetings—which have changed the trajectory and lives of dozens of founders.

Learn more about how Techstars mentors work: read the Techstars Mentor Manifesto.

04. What is your favorite thing about the London startup scene?

How international it is. We have founders and teams coming here from around the world. You can be in dozens of countries across four continents within a six or seven hour flight and can work with some of the biggest corporates in industries from pharma to finance and all points in between in just a one hour tube ride from one side of the city to the other.

05. If you could have coffee with any entrepreneur, who would it be and why?

I’d love to have a coffee with Rene Redzepi. I think chefs think about continuous improvement and iteration in a really interesting way—from the ingredients and technology they use to how they interact with their customers. Also, I suspect he’d select a pretty good coffee spot.

Learn more about Techstars accelerators and see which ones are accepting applications now.

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