Inside the Techstars and Western Union Accelerator

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Tearsheet editor in chief, Zack Miller. When Western Union formally began building out its connection to the fintech community, it partnered with Techstars, a well-respected accelerator in Boulder, Colorado. The Techstars and Western Union Accelerator (https://www.techstars.com/accelerators/western-union) focuses on startups looking to shape the future of how money moves, from artificial intelligence and machine learning to crypto and blockchain. Joining me on the podcast today are two leaders of the program: Tyler McPherson-Wiman is the global vp of corporate strategy and development at Western Union and Elle Bruno is managing director for the Techstars and Western Union Accelerator. We discuss the decision behind launching an accelerator and the nature of the Western Union and Techstars partnership. We dive into the role the accelerator plays in Western Union’s innovation program and how both partners measure the success of the program. Let’s go.