Greg Raiz, managing director of Techstars Boston who helped lead the organization out of the pandemic, is stepping down from his position 16 months after joining.
A spokesperson confirmed to BostInno Friday afternoon that Raiz would be leaving Techstars Boston at the end of October after a job posting for a managing director was shared on the organization’s website.
“We’d like to thank Greg Raiz for his service to the Boston Techstars community,” said Nancy Wolff, Techstars general manager, in a statement. “Greg built a strong team, directed two classes (supporting 24 startups), and helped to kickstart the upcoming Techstars Web3 class.”
Wolff said Techstars is searching for a replacement and encourages candidates from underrepresented groups to apply.
Raiz said via a spokesperson that he will continue to support and invest in early-stage startups but is not yet ready to announce his next role.
Raiz was announced as the accelerator program’s new leader in June 2021. He wrote on his personal website at the time that his goal was to accelerate companies saving lives, saving the planet and changing the way we live and work.
Under Raiz’s leadership, Techstars Boston brought back its in-person Demo Days after two years on Zoom. At the beginning of 2022, Raiz said the organization had its first back-in-person Demo Day. But he called that event “a little bit lighter” than its previous iterations, saying many people were still getting used to being back together.
Then this August, Demo Day was held at the House of Blues and showcased 12 startups who completed Techstars Boston's three-month accelerator program. Techstars Boston said 600 attendees registered to attend, with half planning to come in person and half watching the online stream.
At the end of the event, Techstars Boston announced the launch of its new crypto accelerator in collaboration with Boston-based blockchain company Algorand.
Between 2003 and 2017 Raiz led Raizlabs, a mobile app development firm that he founded. The company was acquired in 2017 by Chicago-based customer experience agency Rightpoint. In the years before joining Techstars, Raiz invested in the Boston startup community directly and through established angel groups like TBD Angels.
