[caption id="attachment_483276" align="aligncenter" width="680"] Image via David Chang[/caption]
"Today is my last Demo Day."
Although the news had been out since February that Katie Rae and Reed Sturtevant would be stepping down as the managing directors of Techstars Boston, Rae's words shared Tuesday morning still hit the tech community hard.
"I'm here to say thank you," said serial entrepreneur and investor Bill Warner on the Demo Day stage at the House of Blues. Warner reminisced on Rae's first meeting with Techstars Founder David Cohen. The pair chatted in a New York hotel in November 2010. From there, "All this has started," Warner added, looking over the more than 1,000-person crowd. "And man, has it gone fast."
Warner also shared why he loves Boston — the city he built Avid Technology, Wildfire Communications, FutureBoston and Warner Research in.
"I really feel strongly about Boston," Warner acknowledged. "I love it here because I don't think people say, 'What's in it for me?' But, 'How can I help you?'"
The former directors embody that spirit, which was proven through a standing ovation and the video Techstars staff, mentors and alumni made for Rae, Sturtevant and Brightcove Co-founder Bob Mason, the managing director of Project 11, the firm for which Rae and Sturtevant will be raising a new fund.
Fancred's Kash Razzaghi, Founder Collective's Eric Paley, Boston Seed Capital's Nicole Stata, Adelphic Mobile's Jennifer Lum and The Tap Lab's Dave Bisceglia were among the dozens featured.
"Once you can pitch Katie, you can pitch anybody," Lum noted in the video. Rae has been known to give tough love, but only because she loves the companies she is working with. When they do well, Paley added, "There's nothing like seeing Katie's face light up."
Sravish Sridhar, founder and CEO of Techstars graduate Kinvey, referred to a note he tweeted out later on in the day. Before stepping on the Demo Day stage in 2011, Rae handed him a piece of paper that said, "Be you."
"I've had that note in my bag ever since," Sridhar added.
I will never forget this piece of advice that @ktrae gave me at #TSDemoDay in 2011: "Be You" -> pic.twitter.com/LZQGBVDrC6
— Sravish Sridhar (@sravish) April 29, 2014
There were tears — particularly from Rae, who started Demo Day by sweetly, albeit bluntly telling the crowd, "Everyone who knows me knows I'm a crier, so just get over it."
Rae passed the torch to local angel investor Semyon Dukach. He will now serve as managing director, working alongside Rohit Gupta and Tuan Pham. "They all care about founders, and that they grow the companies they want to grow," lauded Rae of the trio.
Nearly 100 companies comprise the Techstars Boston alumni pool and, over the last three and a half years, Rae can safely say, "I think we have seen Boston blossom in so many different areas." And it's that growth and budding sense of community she is most proud of.
"Techstars has, over the years, changed the energy level of entrepreneurs," Warner said, later adding, "Katie, thank you for taking this on."
Warner wasn't the only one singing Rae, Sturtevant and Mason's praises, however. Just take one look at Twitter.
