Compensation Overview

Location: San Diego - onsite

Program Associate, Techstars San Diego powered by San Diego State University 

Techstars San Diego powered by SDSU invests in and supports 12 startups per year through our 13 week accelerator program. As the operations lead for the team, the Program Associate will work side by side with the Managing Director (MD) to produce the accelerator program, create an amazing experience for our founders, and build a network of support around the companies. The MD’s focus is program strategy and relationship management, company sourcing, and investing in and coaching the best companies from around the world. As the Accelerator Program Associate, your focus is on program operations and the execution of the Techstars playbook to enable the delivery of value-driving programming and the best possible experience for founders, mentors, investors, our partner SDSU, and other network stakeholders.

You will be responsible for ensuring the operational success of the full accelerator cycle from pre-program and founder onboarding to 13-weeks of programming and Demo Day. This includes utilizing tools and developing processes to manage program data, building and scheduling the 3-month programming calendar, logistics and event management, and the execution of the culmination of the program, Demo Day.

Throughout the year you will have the opportunity to work across the Techstars network, support cross-collaborative projects, focus on professional development and career growth, and work with colleagues from all around the world.

Responsibilities and Duties:

• Partner with Managing Director to develop a program plan, and then own the overall responsibility for the successful execution of the Accelerator program, including Demo Day.
• Ensure the program is following best practices and executing upon the outlined content and curriculum of the Techstars playbook.
• Deliver a best-in-class accelerator experience for founders, mentors, partners, investors, and other program stakeholders.
• Own all logistics, operations, administration, scheduling, calendar management, and event planning for the program.
• Implement network events/programs to support founders and alumni both during program and outside of program.
• Support relationship management with San Diego State University and Techstars’ Global Network Partners. Help founders leverage opportunities with SDSU.
• Collaborate with the Global Mentor team to facilitate successful matchmaking between founders and mentors on a global level and identify mentors best suited at the program level.
• Manage the logistics of the sourcing, application, screening, and onboarding process.
• Manage a team of program interns supplied by SDSU.
• Maintain the accelerator CRM that is used to track founders and startups, mentors, investors, alumni, and other members of the accelerator program’s network.
• Actively recruit and meet companies through various channels including online research, networking events and referrals from our network.
• Manage the accelerator program social media accounts.

Required Experience:

• 5+ years of experience in operations, event planning and project management.
• Experience within the early-stage venture-backed ecosystem is preferred.
• Experience addressing a variety of audiences including founders, clients, and internal stakeholders.

Required Skills, Abilities & Values:

• Strong project management and administrative skills to ensure that program deliverables are executed at a high caliber, meeting the needs of founders and partners. Experience with Asana is a plus.
• Effective written and verbal communication.
• Exemplifies a strong sense of accountability, both individually and collaboratively.
• Proven history of driving continuous process improvement and maximizing operational efficiency.
• Ability to leverage stakeholder relationships and market data to anticipate client and founder needs and develop solutions that address those needs.
• Strong interest in the discourse around technology, startups, entrepreneurship, and venture capital.
• Aligns with Techstars Values: think like an owner, win as a team, strive for excellence and analyze, execute, learn & iterate.
• Experience working with "No Code" and automation tools like Airtable, Zapier, etc., is a plus.
• Comfortable working in ambiguity but with high expectations.
• Strong emotional intelligence, active listening skills, and high level of empathy.
• Tools we use: Notion, Airtable, Slack, Asana, Google Suite, Salesforce, Hubspot.

Compensation: $75,000 - $85,000 with 10% bonus

About Techstars

Techstars is the most active pre-seed investor in the world having invested through its accelerators in more than 3,700 companies. Founded in 2006, Techstars believes that entrepreneurs create a better future for everyone and great ideas can come from anywhere. Now we are on a mission to invest in an unprecedented number of startups per year enabling more capital to flow to more entrepreneurs around the world. We do this by operating accelerator programs and venture capital funds, as well as by connecting startups, investors, corporations, and cities to help build thriving startup communities. www.techstars.com

Techstars is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, age, national origin, religion, physical or mental handicaps or disabilities, marital status, Veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity nor any other basis prohibited by law.

Techstars uses E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires.  For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

E-Verify Participation Poster (English and Spanish)

Right To Work Poster (English and Spanish)