![]() Arguably, the excitement over each successive Techstars Boston class has lessened year by year. Boston still stings from the departure of Y Combinator, the accelerator known for backing Airbnb and Dropbox, in 2009 for Silicon Valley. ![]() Startup accelerators have lost a bit of luster in the past couple of years. ![]() That’s money that cash-strapped cities crave as they attempt to create a new economy based on technology and innovation. It has graduated nearly 100 companies in Boston alone, generating millions of dollars in funding and local revenue. Think of it as a cross between a landlord, summer camp, and venture-capital firm. Techstars has become a power player in places like Boston, Boulder and Seattle: The program, known as a startup accelerator, takes entrepreneurs and offers them office space, funding and advice, taking a stake in the companies in exchange. The toast is an annual rite of passage for Boston’s startup scene. The program’s new graduates are making plans, many of them having freshly cashed checks from venture capitalists to fuel their ambitions. Rae gives a short but inspiring speech and sends the companies on to their uncertain futures. The collective energy is difficult to miss. Patrón tequila is poured, and grins abound, for this is a moment of catharsis-the end of an intense, three-month sprint to turn an idea into a company. Most of the faces in crowd are young, full of youthful exuberance and a naïve hope that their company is going to make a difference. It’s the end of Demo Day, an annual ritual for Techstars Boston, where Rae is the managing director. Twittering laughter fills the air at the new Techstars office on the edge of Chinatown in Boston, as dozens of young engineers, designers, and marketers gather to raise a glass to Katie Rae, a startup veteran with short, curly blond hair and unstoppable energy. ![]() Ubiquitous computing, ambient intelligence and pervasive networks are changing the way humans interact with everything. The Platform is a regular column by mobile editor Dan Rowinski. ![]()
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