Techstars Farm to Fork now runs as Techstars Future of Food Powered by Ecolab, a three-month accelerator based in Minneapolis-St. Paul. It invests in companies building across the food value chain: supply chain, labor, water tech, retail and restaurant tech, plus logistics and human and animal health. Ecolab is the corporate partner; the earlier Farm to Fork editions were co-funded by Ecolab and Cargill.
- The offer:
- $220k per company
- Location:
- Minneapolis, MN, United States
- Duration:
- 13 weeks
What you need to qualify
- Founders innovating across the entire food value chain.
- Building technology that makes the food system more efficient, safer or more sustainable.
- Sectors named by the program: supply chain, labor, logistics, human and animal health, water tech, retail tech and restaurant tech.
- Able to take part in the Minneapolis-St. Paul program that runs from the September start to the December demo day.
- Accept the standard Techstars terms: $20,000 for 5 percent common stock plus a $200,000 uncapped MFN SAFE.
Eligibility
- Eligible stages
- All stages
- Countries
- Global, subject to the provider’s eligibility and approval
How to apply
- 1
Create your Techstars founder profile
Start at apply.techstars.com. The founder profile section asks for first name, last name, title, contact email, current location, LinkedIn URL, phone number and whether you are working on your startup full time.
- 2
Complete the accelerator application
One application covers every Techstars accelerator. It asks about the problem, the product, industries, team, traction, revenue and funding, business model, target audience, competitors, competitive advantage, timing, customer acquisition and next milestones. Techstars says it takes most teams one to four hours the first time, and you can keep updating sections before you submit.
- 3
Record two videos and attach your deck
The form asks for a product demo video, a pitch deck and a team introduction video. Techstars says the demo does not need to be polished, just show what you actually have.
- 4
Select Techstars Future of Food Powered by Ecolab as a program choice
You can choose several accelerators that are accepting applications at the time you apply. Techstars states that your application is submitted to the general Techstars pool as well as any specific program you choose.
- 5
Submit before the term deadline
The programme page publishes the term timeline as Applications Open 02 Mar, Final Deadline 10 Jun, Accelerator Starts 08 Sep, Demo Day 10 Dec. The page prints no year against those dates.
- 6
Interviews and screening committee
Techstars staff review every submission and aim to review all applications within four weeks of applications closing. An interview invitation can arrive anytime between one and four weeks after the application deadline, followed by a second round and a virtual interview with the screening committee.