Nicole Glaros got her entrepreneurial start in the 4th grade, orchestrating cousins into theatrical plays and charging neighbors admission. From there, she founded 3 startups which is the source of her passion for helping grow startups. Since then, she's spent over 15 years working with and funding early-stage web software companies.

Currently, Nicole is the Chief Investment Strategy Officer at Techstars. Nicole was a key catalyst in growing the organization from 2 people to a global powerhouse with 47 programs worldwide, events in over 500+ cities, and a market cap of over $7B with nearly $500M under management. She's an expert in growing global organizations, building startup ecosystems, working with early stage startups, venture capital, and more. She sits on boards, has invested in over 90 companies, was named one of the "Coolest People in New York Tech" by Business Insider, Marie Claire named her one of the "NewGuard," and Entrepreneur Magazine called her "One of the 7 most powerful women to watch."

We sat down with Nicole and asked her to explain why one of the most important things investors should look at in a startup is the founding team — and exactly what that means. 

Here’s what she had to say:

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