Original post by Galen Moore via Bostinno
Startup Institute has raised $3 million from Silicon Valley Bank–funding the company’s head of product design and operations said will be used to take the startup job-training program into smaller markets.
Spun out of Techstars Boston in 2012, Startup Institute operates in Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London and New York. “We proved it in a scrappy way,” Boston operations head Jeremy Carter told me by phone. “We’ve shown we can be a revenue-driven company.”
Carter said many of Startup Institute’s students come to its programs from other cities. He said the company is looking to explore what it can do in cities with smaller startup sectors. It will use some of this funding, which it’s calling a Series A round, to pursue that goal. He said expansion of Startup Institute’s recently launched part-time program, RampUp, will be another focus.
“There’s definitely demand,” said Katie Rae, one of Startup Institute’s co-founders and its executive chairwoman. “Denver, Austin–there are many cities of that ilk.”
Looks like Startup Institute is heading downmarket, instead of up, as far as venture capital’s geography is concerned: No mention of Silicon Valley or San Francisco, here. The Valley is a “contender,” Rae said when I asked her why not. “We look at places where we could have an impact.”
In a news release (below), Startup Institute also announced it is founding a scholarship program for women, minorities and military veterans. They’ll also be looking to extend new programs to alumni. Rae said Startup Institute’s placement rate is more than 90 percent for those who graduate seeking startup-sector employment.
SVB has been a supporter since early days, when it sponsored Startup Institute along with Microsoft, Fairhaven Capital and the law firm Goodwin Procter. Now, with the funding, the venture bank joins a group of angel investors and SVB’s Joan Parsons takes a board seat. Rae said SVB took equity in exchange for the funds. She declined to talk valuation, but said Startup Institute raised about a half a million dollars in its seed round.
