Maëlle Gavet, CEO of Techstars, has announced her departure for health reasons. Gavet will step down at the end of the month, with David Cohen, Techstars co-founder and board chairman, taking over as CEO immediately.
Gavet, CEO since 2021, announced her resignation in a LinkedIn article, expressing her gratitude for her time at the company.
She recognised the efforts and passion of her team, the executive board, employees, investors, and the founders with whom she worked at Techstars.
She also discussed her health difficulties, announced her decision to leave due to her health issues, and wished the company well in the future.
Internally, Gavet’s leadership style was questioned, with some employees and managing directors accusing her of creating a high-stress work atmosphere.
This climate resulted in a significant departure of employees, affecting the company’s morale and operational stability.
Externally, Techstars needed help establishing a compromise between its aggressive expansion goals and the need for profit. Tensions with corporate partners, notably JPMorgan Chase, impeded the company’s ambitions to scale.
This relationship, critical to Techstars’ operations, worsened under Gavet’s leadership, resulting in high client attrition.
The dispute with JPMorgan was especially damaging since it cast doubt on the sustainability of multiple accelerator programmes supported by a $80 million collaboration.
This fractured alliance created uncertainty for programmes in significant places such as Miami, Atlanta, and Oakland.
About five months ago, it was revealed that Techstars Accelerator, in cooperation with Lagos-based ARM Labs, announced a significant funding initiative for African entrepreneurs.
The program’s second cohort would see Techstars invest $1.4 million in 12 creative firms throughout the continent.
Each firm will receive up to $120,000 in capital and access to over $400,000 in cash equivalents for hosting, accounting, legal help, and other advantages totalling more than $5 million.
