Techstars Opens Fall 2026 Applications
Techstars has officially opened applications for its Fall 2026 accelerator program. The firm is offering a $220K investment, access to mentors, and its global network for selected early-stage startups.
Y Combinator partner Michael Seibel advises against chasing "hard-won" customers initially. Your first users should come from your personal network—people who personally feel the problem you're trying to solve and are willing to work with an early-stage, unfinished product. Early adopters are not a personality type; they are problem-specific. Look for people with a sense of urgency who are actively seeking a solution to a problem they consider a priority. Charging for your MVP is a key qualifier—if they're only willing to use it for free, they may not truly feel the pain point. Find your target users where they already gather in "watering holes." This includes niche online forums, Reddit communities (like r/SaaS or vertical-specific subreddits), Discord servers, and Slack groups. Airbnb famously found its first users on Craigslist by identifying people expressing a need for short-term housing. Before you pitch, participate. Spend time in these online communities answering questions and adding value to establish yourself as a credible member. Only after building rapport should you organically introduce your product as a relevant solution, which dramatically increases conversion rates compared to a cold pitch. For direct outreach, lead with value before asking for their time. Share a relevant resource, offer a high-level audit of their current solution, or engage with their content on LinkedIn before sending an email. The initial goal is not a demo, but a discovery conversation to learn. YC General Partner Ankit Gupta recommends building a "Minimum Evolvable Product," not just an MVP. The goal is to survive contact with early users and adapt quickly based on their feedback. Paying customers provide sharper feedback than free users, helping to steer the product's evolution. Establish a system of "continuous discovery" by making user conversations a weekly habit for the product team. This creates an ongoing feedback loop that embeds user needs directly into the development lifecycle, reducing the risk of building features nobody wants.
