Techstars plans to bring its startup accelerator program to Columbus in a partnership with Ohio State University, its first time in the state.
A job listing seeks an on-site managing director of "Techstars Columbus Accelerator Powered by The Ohio State University." The post on LinkedIn indicates more than 30 applicants so far; it also appeared on other job boards.
When reached by Columbus Inno, a spokeswoman declined comment on plans for a potential Columbus accelerator.
This year's record $110 million donation to OSU to create the Center for Software Innovation includes funding for a tech accelerator, university spokesman Ben Johnson said. However, it is too early to provide details.
The gift came from family foundation of Ratmir Timashev, the OSU graduate who founded Veeam Software Corp., a Columbus data backup and recovery firm valued at $5 billion. The software innovation hub will unite engineering, business and other OSU colleges to promote entrepreneurship and education on various aspects of the industry from coding to marketing.
The tech accelerator component will help bring ideas to market for students, faculty "and other qualified candidates who have startup ideas," Timashev told Ohio State Alumni Magazine for a recent issue. He did not identify Techstars by name.
"We are going to bring lots of other startups from around the country and even the world to that accelerator,” he said. Timashev currently resides in Connecticut.
The managing director job listing seeks a "servant leader" who believes "collaboration drives innovation" and "that entrepreneurs can change the world." The job description entails investing in founders to support their companies from the first idea to a successful IPO, sale or other exit. Ideal candidates are startup founders themselves who have seen both success and failure, it said.
The closest Techstars accelerators today are in Indianapolis and Detroit. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Techstars has brought its Startup Week event to Columbus in the past.
Central Ohio entrepreneurs have gone through the accelerator program in other cities, such as New York City and Toronto. Some later ended up moving their startups out of state to be closer to customers.
Columbus is not yet listed among accelerator sites. Several are sponsored or "powered by" university partners. New York City-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. sponsors accelerators in Chicago and other cities.
JPMorgan has a major operations hub in Columbus, but a spokeswoman confirmed it is not involved in a Central Ohio location.
Nearly 3,400 startups have completed its programs to date, on average raising $1 million in seed rounds afterward, according to the website where startups can apply.
"Columbus is truly a wonderful place to start and build a startup, and Techstars coming to town will only help our ecosystem," Chris Olsen, co-founder and partner at Columbus-based Drive Capital LLC, said in a statement. The firm with $2 billion under management is not involved in this accelerator, a spokesman said.
“We are excited about the OSU Techstars partnership and look forward to how it will help to expand the startup ecosystem here in Columbus,” said a statement from Tom Walker, CEO of Rev1 Ventures, which advises and invests in startups including many OSU spinoffs.
