How FounderCon 2025 is Powering MyMech's Next Chapter
Attending Techstars FounderCon 2025 has opened up new dimensions for MyMech; not just in technology, but in mindset, connection, and clarity. Being part of this gathering of founders, mentors, and ecosystem leaders has reinforced why we do what we do and sharpened how we should do it. Being apart of the experience would not have been possible without ticket from the Deming Center for student entrepreneurs offered through David Cohen.
What's FounderCon & Why It Matters
FounderCon is Techstars' yearly summit that brings together founders, alumni, investors, and community leaders from across the global network. This year, the event returned to its roots in Boulder, Colorado, after a decade. The significance is more than symbolic: FounderCon is a space designed to spur real connection, feedback loops, and shared momentum.
This year's FounderCon expects nearly 800 founders, mentors, and investors from around the world. It's an important pulse check for founder-led companies like MyMech, especially those tackling deep issues like transparency and trust in industries like car care.
Where AI Meets Real Startup Needs
One of the highlights was a deep-dive on AI led by Google and sessions focused on how AI, ML, and cloud tools are being used to accelerate startup growth. It focused on how founders should be thinking about integrating AI not as a buzzword, but as a way to deliver real utility faster.
For MyMech, this means refining how Mira (our AI assistant) can not only diagnose car issues but anticipate them, provide actionable user-friendly explanations, and scale safely and efficiently. The ideas shared helped us evaluate best practices: data privacy, model interpretability, cloud infrastructure, and how to embed feedback loops so that each version of our AI is better.
Mentorship & Feedback That Hits Home
But it wasn't just about hearing from experts; it was about being in mentor tables, getting direct feedback on our value proposition, product roadmap, and go-to-market punches. These conversations are turning what's inside our heads into customer-facing clarity.
Mentors asked the right hard questions:
- "What's the single most immediate trust issue your users experience?"
- "How do you prove transparency in repair shops, not just promise it?"
- "What does AI do for you vs. what it does for someone else in your space?"
These queries are refining MyMech's storytelling: sharpening what we say, how we say it, and who we say it to (drivers, investors, mechanics).
#GiveFirst Culture: More Than a Tagline
One thing that truly stood out at FounderCon is how the Techstars "GiveFirst" philosophy is alive and breathing. It shows up when a founder you just met introduces you to someone who can solve your problem, when someone gives advice without asking for anything back, when mentors support peers even when they compete in markets.
It's this culture of generosity and collaboration that makes FounderCon more than a networking event — it's a confidence multiplier. For MyMech, it underscores that the trust we want to build with drivers isn't just about what our product does — it's about how we behave, whom we support, and how openly we share.
What MyMech Is Taking Back Home
After just a few days, we have:
- Clearer messaging: Better ways to communicate why MyMech matters: guiding users, transparency, real-world value in car maintenance.
- Actionable AI strategy improvements: Practical lessons for speeding iteration, handling edge cases, ensuring our AI assistant is helpful and understandable.
- Network of people who share the journey: Founders, mentors, investors who understand the tough parts, who are willing to give feedback, and who see the long game.
- Renewed commitment to community values: Every handshake, every conversation reminded us that what we build is tethered to how we build it, with integrity, trust, and openness.
Looking Forward
We came here with a vision of transforming the car maintenance experience: making it transparent, trustworthy, and accessible. The feedback, the AI insights, and the community at FounderCon are helping us map a clearer path: tools that not only diagnose, but truly explain; a user experience that combines functionality with trust signals; storytelling that reaches users and investors with authenticity.
Thank you to Techstars, to every mentor who asked hard questions, every founder who shared generously, and everyone who embodies the #GiveFirst spirit.
We return to MyMech more grounded, more ambitious, and more certain that our best work is still ahead.