Last October, we put out the call to startups worldwide to apply for the Target + Techstars accelerator program, led by Minneapolis tech guru and Managing Director Ryan Broshar and West Stringfellow, vice president of internal innovation and operations at Target. With applications now closed, we’re blown away by the response we got: more than 500 tech-based startups, hailing from as far away as Australia, Nigeria and Greece, applied to be part of the accelerator this summer.
Now it’s on Ryan and Target to narrow the pool down to 10 startups who’ll relocate to Minneapolis, starting in June. Once here, they’ll be provided with invaluable resources and guidance from mentors like chief strategy and innovation officer Casey Carl, president of Target.com and mobile Jason Goldberger and more.
Learn more about the application process and amazing range of applicants competing for the ten spots.
Target x Techstars Retail Accelerator Applicants
Facts about the submission process
More than 550 applications received
Applications rolled in from 45 countries
Startups from 32 states applied
Recruiting events in San Francisco, Boston, Minneapolis, Seattle and NYC
5,000 startups evaluated
8,000 square foot space being built for accelerator companies at Target’s Minneapolis HQ
Ideas submitted from connected toys to virtual fitting rooms
#TSRetail tweets about submission
@petezin: “3 months, 20k $, great mentoring and superb connections at #TSretail. Mor info: @rbroshar from @techstars”
@leepetergeorge: “.@rbroshar says “Team, team, team” is incredibly important to have developed if you are thinking about applying for @techstars #TSretail”
@333serrano: “To CommerceTech startup friends. Check out the @techstars @Target Retail Accelerator @rbroshar @westleys #Tsretail fgs/techstarsretai…”
Met in person with more than 250 startups
Held more than 325 office hour sessions
Timeline of the process
Applications opened in October 2015
Recruiting was conducted November 2015 through March 2016
Companies will be selected between March and June 2016
The accelerator runs between June and September 2016
Demo Day will happen September 2016
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