Sprint Accelerator managing director John Fein is leaving Techstars

The Sprint Accelerator in Kansas City is losing another piece that made its three-year run a success. John Fein, the accelerator’s managing director from Techstars, is leaving.

Fein is leaving Techstars to launch an investment fund aimed at early-stage businesses in the Kansas City area and the rest of the Midwest. Firebrand Ventures expects to raise at least $7 million to back companies that perhaps haven’t begun to generate revenues but offer promising futures.

The move comes from Fein’s experiences running the Sprint Accelerator.

“I felt the pain of there being a lack of early-stage capital for startups,” he said. “It’s not just in Kansas City, it’s throughout the Midwest.”

Fein said investors in the region aren’t comfortable putting money into businesses that aren’t yet producing revenues, or have scant revenues. But that is exactly what Techstars does through its accelerator programs.

The Firebrand fund will echo that approach, Fein said.

The job will mean travel, as Firebrand Ventures has an eye out for investment opportunities from San Antonio to Minneapolis and from Boulder to Columbus, Fein said. He plans to continue working out of Kansas City.

“I’m not going anywhere. Definitely staying in Kansas City,” Fein said.

Fein said he continues to work with Techstars on developing a program for 2017. Sprint, which backed the program for three years, has said it is seeking partners for Techstars’ future activity in Kansas City.

Techstars has moved toward themed accelerator programs that draw support from a number of backers rather than one corporate backer, which had been an early program design.

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 12:03 PM with the headline "Sprint Accelerator managing director John Fein is leaving Techstars."