Techstars Founders Share Unicorn Success Stories

𝐀 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐈𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐛𝐮𝐥, 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐣𝐞𝐯𝐨, 𝐎𝐦𝐚𝐡𝐚, 𝐔𝐳𝐛𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧, 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐔𝐊 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 You don't get a lot of chances to ask a unicorn founder a real question and have them actually answer. In the next two weeks you have two. James Garvey (Self Financial CEO, billion-dollar fintech, $127M raised) is on May 7. Dmytro Voloshyn (Preply, Co-Founder and CTO of Techstars newest unicorn) is on May 19. Both rooms are built for this. Small enough that your hand goes up and gets answered. Global enough that whoever you're sitting next to is probably worth knowing. 🔥 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟕 — 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐚.𝐜𝐨𝐦/𝐬𝐡𝐝𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐠𝟗 🔥 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟗 — 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐚.𝐜𝐨𝐦/𝐚𝐲𝐪𝐛𝐩𝐬𝐰𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 in Istanbul, Sarajevo, Omaha, Uzbekistan, Belfast, and the NatWest UK Startup Network. #Techstars #FounderCatalyst #FiresideChat #Unicorn #Startup #Istanbul #Sarajevo #Omaha #Uzbekistan #Belfast #NatWest Techstars, Techstars Founder Catalyst, Techstars Istanbul, a Startup Community Partnership, Techstars Omaha, a Startup Community Partnership, Techstars Uzbekistan, a Startup Community Partnership, Techstars Belfast, a Startup Community Partnership, Techstars Sarajevo, Startup Community Partnership, NatWest Group, Zoe Evans, Glory Eromosele, Elham Noor, Katie Smith, Widad G., Emily Skinstad, Britt Kasco, Misti Cain, Laurel Oetken, Jocelyn S., Harun Mlivo, Bojan Lazic, Amna Krnić, Asilbek Ortikov, Madina Zokirova, Madina Mirzakhalilova, Abdulazal Toshkhujaev, Khurshid Azizov, Bahadir Girtten, Aylin Sahin, Ph.D., Yasemen Çelik, Amy Junkin, Ian Browne, Laura McGirr, Peter W. Nawa, Sharon Morgan Young, Kat Maguire, Emma O'Kane, Giulia Esposito, Emily Fallon and Charlotte Winbolt.

𝟏 𝐝𝐚𝐲. Here's what people who've already registered are showing up for: — A unicorn founder who actually knows what $0 ARR feels like (and remembers) — Honest answers about scaling inside a regulated industry — The fundraising story behind $127M — A live Q&A where your question gets the answer James Garvey, Founder of Self Financial, Thursday at 3 PM GMT. 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫: https://luma.com/shdystg9 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 in Istanbul, Sarajevo, Omaha, Uzbekistan, Belfast, and the NatWest UK Startup Network. #Techstars #FounderCatalyst #FiresideChat #Unicorn #Startup #Istanbul #Sarajevo #Omaha #Uzbekistan #Belfast #NatWest Techstars, Techstars Founder Catalyst, Techstars Istanbul, a Startup Community Partnership, Techstars Omaha, a Startup Community Partnership, Techstars Uzbekistan, a Startup Community Partnership, Techstars Belfast, Techstars Sarajevo, Startup Community Partnership, NatWest Group, Zoe Evans, Glory Eromosele, Elham Noor, Katie Smith, Widad G., Emily Skinstad, Britt Kasco, Misti Cain, Laurel Oetken, Jocelyn S., Harun Mlivo, Bojan Lazic, Amna Krnić, Asilbek Ortikov, Madina Zokirova, Madina Mirzakhalilova, Abdulazal Toshkhujaev, Khurshid Azizov, Bahadir Girtten, Aylin Sahin, Ph.D., Yasemen Çelik, Amy Junkin, Ian Browne, Laura McGirr, Peter W. Nawa, Sharon Morgan Young, Kat Maguire, Emma O'Kane, Giulia Esposito, Emily Fallon and Charlotte Winbolt.

🔥 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲: 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲, 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 In 2015, James Garvey looked at the American credit system and saw something most fintech founders missed: millions of people weren't failing at credit. They'd never been given a chance to start. He built Self Financial on that gap. A decade later: $127M raised, 600 employees, a billion-dollar valuation, 4.9 stars from a quarter million people who needed what he made. 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝟑 𝐏𝐌 𝐆𝐌𝐓, 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. 🔥 𝟑:𝟎𝟎–𝟒:𝟑𝟎 𝐏𝐌 𝐆𝐌𝐓 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐚.𝐜𝐨𝐦/𝐬𝐡𝐝𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐠𝟗 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 in Istanbul, Sarajevo, Omaha, Uzbekistan, Belfast, and the NatWest UK Startup Network. #Techstars #FounderCatalyst #FiresideChat #Unicorn #Startup #Istanbul #Sarajevo #Omaha #Uzbekistan #Belfast #NatWest Techstars, Techstars Founder Catalyst, Techstars Istanbul, a Startup Community Partnership, Techstars Omaha, a Startup Community Partnership, Techstars Uzbekistan, a Startup Community Partnership, Techstars Belfast, Techstars Sarajevo, Startup Community Partnership, NatWest Group, Zoe Evans, Glory Eromosele, Elham Noor, Katie Smith, Widad G., Emily Skinstad, Britt Kasco, Misti Cain, Laurel Oetken, Jocelyn S., Harun Mlivo, Bojan Lazic, Amna Krnić, Asilbek Ortikov, Madina Zokirova, Madina Mirzakhalilova, Abdulazal Toshkhujaev, Khurshid Azizov, Bahadir Girtten, Aylin Sahin, Ph.D., Yasemen Çelik, Amy Junkin, Ian Browne, Laura McGirr, Peter W. Nawa, Sharon Morgan Young, Kat Maguire, Emma O'Kane, Giulia Esposito, Emily Fallon and Charlotte Winbolt.

It's another Techstars EMEA day here at Ormeau Labs! 💫 Join us this afternoon for an exclusive fireside chat with James Garvey, founder and former CEO of Self Financial, Inc. a Techstars portfolio company that has helped millions of Americans build credit and access better financial opportunities. James will share the journey of building Self from an early-stage startup into a fintech powerhouse with a billion-dollar valuation, serving customers across the United States. 📅 Today 🕓 4pm to 5:30pm 📍 Founder Labs space at Ormeau Labs 🎟️ Sign up here 👉 https://luma.com/x7cek4nn We are then diving straight into our Founders' Night with guest speaker Aidan Larkin, co-founder and CEO of Asset Reality 🤩 The platform combines a global system of record with government-grade digital asset custody, enabling agencies and regulated practitioners to manage complex asset lifecycles across jurisdictions with security, audibility and compliance. Aidan is also a Techstars Accelerator alumni 👀 📅 Today 🕠 5:30pm to 7pm 📍 Founder Labs space at Ormeau Labs (please enter via reception!) 🎟️ Sign up here 👉 https://luma.com/alagvajn 🍕 Food and drinks provided! Big thank you to our partners at Founder Labs for letting us use their space! 🙏 Amy Junkin | Rosy Johnston | Emma O'Kane | Zoe Evans | Techstars Founder Catalyst | Techstars Belfast | Ian Browne | Layla McGarry | QUBIS Ltd | Sharon Morgan Young | Kat Maguire | Laura McGirr | Sarah Beggs | Peter W. Nawa

Last weekend, Levitate joined founders, investors, and the tech community at the Startup World Cup regional selection in Bishkek, the official Kyrgyz qualifier for one of the world's largest startup competitions, with a $1M prize awaiting the global winner in San Francisco. What stood out wasn't just the quality of the startups on stage. It was the collaborative spirit behind the event. The regional selection was made possible by a coalition of local and international partners: Pegasus Tech Ventures, Startup Lab 119, the High Technology Park of the Kyrgyz Republic, AITIM Group, EBRD, Turkic American Angel Network, WeFund, and more. That kind of ecosystem-wide collaboration is rare, and it's exactly what early-stage founders need: not just capital, but a community invested in their success. Watching Central Asian startups pitch to investors and industry leaders was a reminder of how much talent exists outside the usual startup hubs, and how much opportunity there is when an ecosystem rallies behind its builders. Congratulations to every founder who took the stage, and to the regional winner heading to Silicon Valley to represent Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia. #StartupWorldCup #Startups #CentralAsia #Innovation #Founders #TechEcosystem

Startups founded by diaspora returnees tend to grow faster, raise more capital, and create lasting impact—despite facing common challenges with the average startup. Learn why returnee founders often build more successful startups in Africa. https://lnkd.in/grw8rAmV

🇲🇩 Moldova is officially Europe’s fastest-growing startup ecosystem, recognized in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2026 by StartupBlink. 📈 91.9% growth rate, highest in Europe, 3rd highest globally 🌍 #82 globally, up 8 places 🏙️ Chișinău entered the global top 500 startup cities This milestone reflects the work of founders, partners, investors, corporations, universities, and everyone helping build Moldova’s startup ecosystem together. We still have a lot to build, but this recognition shows that Moldova is moving forward and gaining visibility on the global startup map. 🇲🇩 Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/eWQ6pBcm Dreamups, XY Partners, Technovator, Yep!Moldova, GLIA Impact Hub, EU4Innovation East, Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund, Innovate Moldova, Moldova Innovation Technology Park, Tekwill, Sigmoid, Inotek and many others.

Most startup ideas do not fail because they are bad. They fail because they never get the chance to exist. A few months ago, a young founder reached out to us at PhiBITech. He had an app idea. Clear market understanding. Strong domain knowledge. A real plan for distribution. But there was one problem: He did not have enough capital to both build and market the product. And honestly, this is where many African startup ideas die. Not because founders are lazy. Not because the market is bad. But because turning an idea into a working product is expensive, confusing, and risky — especially for non-technical founders. Normally, software companies want full payment upfront. But this founder proposed something unusual. He asked us to trust him. He offered to pay just 20% of the development cost upfront, then complete payment later once he got the business moving. At first, we were skeptical. Startups fail every day. Ideas are cheap. Execution is hard. But after several conversations with him, we realized something important: The best founders are not always the ones with the most money. Sometimes they are simply the ones who deeply understand: - the problem - the market - the customer - and how to sell So we took the bet. Not on the startup. On the founder. Today, we are almost done building the product and preparing for launch. And honestly, the experience changed how we think about startup development in Africa. Because there are thousands of smart people with valuable ideas who may never build anything simply because they lack technical support or enough upfront capital. That is why PhiBiTech is evolving beyond just “software development.” We want to become the technical partner for serious non-technical founders across Africa. Not just writing code. But helping founders: - validate ideas faster - launch MVPs - avoid costly technical mistakes - build scalable products - and move from idea → execution Because sometimes, the biggest thing standing between a founder and a successful startup… is simply getting started. So if you are: - a non-technical founder - building something ambitious - understand your market - and serious about execution Reach out. You bring the vision. We’ll help you build it. https://phibitech.com #StartupAfrica #NonTechnicalFounder #AfricanStartups #TechStartup #BuildInPublic #Entrepreneurship #ProductDevelopment #StartupFounder #TechInAfrica #InnovationAfrica Odunayo Eweniyi Femi Longe Google for Startups

African founders looking for co-founders, funding, and global startup support now have another opportunity. The Antler Residency Program, backed by global venture capital firm Antler, is helping early-stage entrepreneurs move from idea to investment-ready startups. Designed for solo founders and early teams, the residency focuses on building companies from day zero. Key Highlights 🔸 Open to founders across Africa 🔸 Co-founder matching with engineers, operators, and entrepreneurs 🔸 Idea validation and startup building support 🔸 Potential investment: $100K – $500K for selected startups 🔸Access to mentorship, workshops, and investor networks 🔸 Global residency locations include Nairobi, Dubai, London, Berlin, Singapore, and New York City Antler calls itself a “day-zero investor,” backing founders even before a company is fully formed. 👉 Read the full breakdown on our website https://lnkd.in/ev4ja_8z ♻️ Repost to help a founder discover this opportunity 👥 Tag a startup founder who should see this Would you join a founder residency to build your startup? #AfricanStartups #StartupAccelerator #VentureCapital #TechEntrepreneurs #InnovationAfrica

"Over the past year, we have continued to see more Israeli startups in New York. Today, there are 470 startups from Israel and the number is increasing every week" - Guy Franklin, CEO and founder of Israeli Mapped in NY. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ejrubDY3