Elite athlete, investor and speaker, Christie Jenkins, has taken the reigns at Techstars as Managing Director. The appointment coincides with the accelerator welcoming applications for its 2025 program.
Jenkins is no stranger to high performance. She’s been ranked number one in Australia and top ten in the world in three sports – trampolining, CrossFit and beach volleyball – and has since gone on to become a venture capitalist at Blackbird, help grow Athletic Ventures, a community of elite athletes who invest in and support innovative private companies, as well co-found a startup that acquired professional football clubs around the globe.
Now, she’s bringing her high-performance mindset to Techstars.
Techstars helps founders build globally competitive companies by mentoring them through their network of founders, investors and industry leaders.
Applications now open
Techstars Sydney is now accepting applications for its 2025 program, which will run from 8 September – 5 December. Applications close 11 June.
“In elite sport I learnt that if you want to become world-class, three things matter: great coaches, training with people better than you, and an insane work ethic.” says Jenkins.
“Accelerators provide the first two – the work ethic is up to you.”
The 2025 program
The Techstars accelerator program gives startups the opportunity to connect with those who are the best at what they do.
But this isn’t limited to the coaches.
“Every founder in Techstars is wildly ambitious, moving at high speed, and someone we deeply respect and admire. Spending 13 weeks side-by-side with those humans will do more to accelerate your growth than anything you can do on your own,” says Jenkins.
What Techstars is looking for
Techstars selects only 12 startups per cohort, but Jenkins says they’re not looking for founders who have everything figured out – they’re looking for what she calls, “super strengths”.
“We expect early stage companies to have glaring gaps,” she says, explaining that not every startup needs all their ducks in a row to be accepted into the accelerator.
“Missing a cofounder, or a go-to-market plan or have never made a dollar in revenue? No problem, as long as you are spiky somewhere else,” she enthuses.
“If people call you ‘crazy’ for your ambition or obsession, you’re probably our kind of person,” she laughs.
The best startups don’t fit a mould, according to Jenkins.
“They’re weird. They’re spiky. They’re often underestimated – and they’re almost never well-rounded.”
All startups welcome
Techstars is what Jenkins refers to as ‘industry agnostic’, with the program being open to all types of tech ventures.
“Whether you’re building Australia’s next great spacetech, fintech, consumer product, or AI company – we want to meet you,” she says.
It is also backed by the NSW Government as part of its broader ambition to position Sydney as a startup powerhouse.
Worldwide ambition
This year’s program is all about helping Australian startups go global.
Techstars has more than 3,500 active portfolio companies around the world including 21 unicorns, and has a network of 3,100+ mentors worldwide.
As Jenkins says, “We’ve got all of them on speed dial. If you want to launch into the US, hire your first international team, or raise from global VCs – we can help.”
Why not you?
Jenkins welcomes all startups to apply, but if you are feeling a little timid, her message to applicants is simple:
“There are people out there less talented, less experienced, and with less resources than you building startups. The difference? They had the bravery to start.
“The best companies in the world – Apple, Stripe, Uber – all got rejected early on. The difference wasn’t experience or connections. It was the courage to start. So why not you?”
Applications for Techstars 2025 (Sydney) are open now and close 11 June. Apply here.
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