What should be in a Techstars data room? (5 pre-wire checks)
A Techstars data room is two packets. The wire packet proves five named checks: background, incorporation, ownership, IP, and a company bank account. The Demo Day packet starts as a one-pager, deck, and financial model. Techstars publishes no 20-file list; the full room of cap tables and contracts waits until near the investment committee.
For most programs the published offer is $220,000: a $20,000 post-money convertible equity agreement for 5% common, plus a $200,000 uncapped MFN Safe. Asia-Pacific programs offer a $100,000 MFN Safe. There is no fee to join.
Techstars data room (definition). Two indexed packets for one program: the five named pre-wire checks, then the Demo Day teaser.
A 20-file vendor list is not a published requirement.
A Drive folder of drafts is not this room.
What should be in a Techstars data room?
The room follows the paper Techstars actually publishes. The 17 April 2025 terms update names five checks before it wires the $20,000. The November 2025 fundraising series names the Demo Day first share: a one-pager, an investor deck, and a financial model. It says the full room of cap tables and contracts is for the investment-committee stage, or after a soft commitment. For the general accelerator packet, see What should be in an accelerator data room? (5 published deals). For what stays out of the first share, see What should I leave out of a seed data room?.
| Check Techstars names | What to file | Keep out |
|---|---|---|
| Background | The identity packet the program requests | Personal tax returns on the Demo Day link |
| Incorporation | Certificate of incorporation and charter | A personal LLC as the company |
| Ownership | Fully diluted cap table that already shows the 5% CEA and the MFN Safe | A screenshot that omits Techstars |
| IP check | Signed assignment from every founder and contractor who built the product | Source code, unfiled invention disclosures |
| Company bank account | Company account in the legal name | A personal account as the company account |
What Techstars checks before it wires
Techstars’ investment terms, retrieved 5 October 2026, put $220,000 on most programs: $200,000 through an uncapped MFN Safe and $20,000 through a post-money convertible equity agreement for 5% common stock. Asia-Pacific programs offer a $100,000 uncapped MFN Safe, so $120,000 total with the $20,000 CEA. The Techstars FAQ on this investment was modified 8 April 2025.
The 17 April 2025 terms update is the page that names the gate. Before Techstars commits, certain checks are required. As soon as those checks are completed (background, incorporation, ownership, IP check, and company bank account), Techstars will sign and wire the $20,000. There is no fee to join a Techstars accelerator program. Those five checks are the published diligence. A 20-file Demo Day list is not.
Both instruments convert in a priced round of at least $1 million. The MFN Safe adopts the lowest-cap Safe, or other most favorable terms such as a discount, issued between the MFN start date and that round. Techstars’ own example: at a $20 million pre-money priced round, the $200,000 Safe converts into about 1% more ownership, on top of the 5%. A cheap Safe signed in week eight of the program can become Techstars’ conversion too. The cap table in the room has to show it.
Techstars invests in US corporations or foreign equivalents. A company incorporated in a non-approved country (India is the example on the terms page) has to complete a reorganization, a flip, before Techstars can invest. A side letter sets pro rata, digital-asset, and drag-along rights. After the program, the company sends Techstars key operating metrics and burn.
What Demo Day investors get first
Techstars’ Fundraising Series: Prepping Your Materials, dated 5 November 2025 and retrieved 5 October 2026, is the published Demo Day list. Dave Cass and Christine Hong tell founders to have the decks, the one-pager, and the financial model ready before week one of the raise. Some founders share an introductory room with those three files. The full data room, the page says, containing granular information like cap tables and contracts, should generally be shared only when close to the investment committee stage or after a soft commitment.
That split is the field caveat. Mentors and hallway intros get the deck. Techstars’ investment team gets the five wire checks on a named link. Investors after a real meeting get the confirmatory packet. One Drive folder cannot make that split. For the deck-versus-packet job, see Should a seed founder use DocSend or a data room?.
| Packet | Who | What | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wire | Techstars investment team | The five named checks | After acceptance, before the $20,000 |
| Demo Day teaser | Mentors, scouts, first meetings | One-pager, current deck, financial model | Before week one of the raise |
| Confirmatory | After a soft commit, near the investment committee | Cap table, contracts, IP assignments, bank | Not the hallway link |
What goes in the folder
Techstars’ legal red-flags post, dated 17 August 2026, lists the files founders should be able to locate quickly: formation documents, charter and bylaws, board and stockholder approvals, a current cap table, founder stock documents, equity plan and grant documents, Safes, notes, other financing agreements, IP assignment agreements, employee, advisor, and contractor agreements, material customer or vendor contracts, and tax and securities filings where they apply. That is a readiness list, not a Demo Day dump. The eight legal to-dos post (1 August 2024) is the earlier version of the same house: Delaware C corporation, state registration, invention assignments, vesting and 83(b), employment paperwork, privacy policy and terms of use.
First-look is the open room. Confirmatory is still gated. Keep-out is what does not belong in a first look. Put the 5% and the MFN on the cap table even if the wire has not landed. Do not invent a 20-file count.
| Folder | First-look | Confirmatory | Keep out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deal + cap table | Fully diluted cap table that already shows the 5% CEA and the MFN Safe | Signed CEA, Safe, and side letter | A screenshot that omits Techstars |
| Company | Certificate of incorporation and charter | Minute book, flip paperwork if the entity had to move | A personal LLC as the company |
| IP and people | Signed assignment from every founder who built the product | Contractor chain, 83(b) filings, advisor grants | Source code, unfiled invention disclosures |
| Bank | Company account in the legal name | Statements that match the deck | A personal account as the company account |
| Deck + numbers | Current deck, one-pager, model that matches the bank | Cohort export, customer contracts | Stale decks, a five-year model, an empty financials folder |
Teaser vs room vs banker VDR
DocSend and email win the deck. Drive wins an application folder. This room wins the packet once many investors open the same files. Datasite and Intralinks win once a banker is running a sale. For Drive as a room, see Is Google Drive enough as a data room for investor diligence?. For the seed tool pick, see Best data room for a seed round in 2026 (6 we priced).
| Job | Who wins | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Send the deck, see who read which slide | DocSend / email | One file. Not this room. |
| Application folder for one reviewer | Google Drive | Fine until the link is forwarded. |
| Prove the five checks, then the Demo Day packet | This room | Indexed folders. Mentors and investors are not the same link. |
| Banker-led process, later M&A | Datasite / Intralinks | A later tool. Not a batch packet. |
See What is Cashpian?, how much a seed data room costs, and pricing.
FAQ
Does Techstars publish a Demo Day file list?
No.
The terms page names five pre-wire checks: background, incorporation, ownership, IP, and a company bank account.
The fundraising series says share a one-pager, deck, and model first.
Cap tables and contracts wait until near the investment committee.
When should a Techstars company share the full data room?
When you are close to the investment committee, or after a soft commitment.
That is Techstars' own November 2025 fundraising series.
Mentors get the deck. The five wire checks go to Techstars.
Does the Techstars Safe belong in the first share?
The cap table has to show the 5% CEA and the $200,000 MFN Safe.
A later Safe with a low cap can become Techstars' conversion too.
The signed instrument can wait for a named investor if you are still early.
Is Google Drive enough for Demo Day week?
For one reviewer, yes.
Once many investors open the same packet, Drive has no watermark and no per-viewer log.
That is when a dedicated room earns the line.
Sources
- Techstars, Investment terms, retrieved 2026-10-05. $220,000 = $200,000 uncapped MFN Safe plus $20,000 CEA for 5% common. Asia-Pacific: $100,000 MFN Safe. Converts in a priced round of at least $1 million. No valuation cap on the MFN.
- Techstars, An update to our investment terms, 17 April 2025, retrieved 2026-10-05. Pre-wire checks: background, incorporation, ownership, IP check, company bank account. Wire the $20,000 when those are done. No fee to join. $20 million pre-money example: the $200,000 Safe is about 1% more.
- Techstars Support, What investments does Techstars make in its Accelerator Portfolio companies?, modified 8 April 2025, retrieved 2026-10-05. Confirms the $220,000 split.
- Techstars, Fundraising Series: Prepping Your Materials, 5 November 2025, retrieved 2026-10-05. One-pager, investor deck, financial model before week one. Full room of cap tables and contracts near the investment committee or after a soft commitment.
- Techstars, The Legal Red Flags That Can Slow Down Your Seed Round, 17 August 2026, retrieved 2026-10-05. Cap table mismatch, founder stock and 83(b), IP gaps, informal agreements, prior financing documents, scattered diligence files.
- Techstars, 8 Legal To-Dos Before Your First Investment, 1 August 2024, retrieved 2026-10-05. Delaware C corporation, invention assignments, vesting, 83(b), employment paperwork. Keep the records in a secure cloud data site.
If the files are already in a folder, grade which row they are on. Cashpian is a gated room for that packet. It is not a listing portal. It does not sell the company or run the deal.