Other than during the final nights before Techstars Retail Demo Day, which could very appropriately be called the “Ring of Fire,” I don’t spend that much time in my day-to-day thinking about Johnny Cash. But that’s changed over the last few months because I’ve been everywhere man, I’ve been everywhere.
Ahead of our next accelerator class, we wanted to reach out to retail startups all over the world and check the pulse of what’s coming next. Since the beginning of the year, Techstars Retail has been in Columbus, L.A., San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Austin, Boulder, Vegas (twice), and even Vietnam! And when we couldn’t make it in person, we hosted four webinars and did hundreds of virtual office hours.
After all of that, my main takeaways are clear:
- Retail technology is cool again. Retail tech acquisitions are booming, which has founders seeing retail as a viable market to enter—and successfully exit. Investors are taking notice.
- Retailers are getting experimental. They are primed to put these new ideas into practice. Physical and digital retail are experiencing a change-a-minute, and retailers have never been more willing to pilot and adopt new technologies to keep pace with the market.
- And they’re looking to Techstars. The new retail industry is all about collaboration and rapid innovation, which is our bread and butter. They’re looking to us, and our community of mentors and founders, to push the market forward.
Now it’s time for you to get in on the action and help us reinvent retail! There’s still time to apply to our 2018 program. Applications are due April 8th. The future’s looking bright, and we want you there with us to create it.
Apply here: http://apply.techstars.com/
Onwards!
Ryan