The downturn certainly hasn't made getting a term sheet an easy endeavor. Many early-stage companies have chosen to forgo traditional investment in favor of participating in incubator programs . This trend is exactly why the TechStars mentorship program is expanding to yet another city. The program just announced plans to launch a Seattle program in the fall of 2010. Sponsor Under the direction of entrepreneur and partner in Seattle's Founders Co-op Andy Sack, 10 lucky startups will receive seed funding and sage advice from a team of established mentors . Based in Boulder, Boston and soon Seattle, TechStars teams receive $6000 dollars per founder for a maximum of 3 founders. From here, the program claims a 6% equity stake in your company and trains you to run a sustainable startup. Some well known program graduates include location-based network Brightkite , Twitter app store oneforty and surveillance service ReTel Technologies . Seattle program participants will benefit from the successes of past graduates as well as hear from entrepreneurs and investors including Managing Director of Voyager Capital Erik Benson, CEO of

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TechStars Expands to Seattle