# The Cloud Is Taking Over (and why you should apply to TechStars Cloud)

Source: https://bartlorang.com/blog/the-cloud-is-taking-over-and-why-you-should-apply-to-techstars-cloud
Date: 2011-10-31

![](https://bartlorang.com/images/blog/the-cloud-is-taking-over-and-why-you-should-apply-to-techstars-cloud/0*qYzmkEJNiLmNcvMK.jpg)

The cloud is taking over everything. Whether it’s PaaS, IaaS, APIs, virtualization, security, infrastructure or hosting — everything is being built for (and in) the cloud.

The power of the cloud is real, and it’s here. Currently there is an enormous market opportunity for cloud infrastructure businesses. For proof, just look at [Rackspace](http://rackspace.com) and [Amazon AWS](http://aws.amazon.com) — both enormously successful cloud infrastructure businesses and growing like weeds. There’s also [SendGrid](http://sendgrid.com) (for email delivery), [Twilio](http://twilio.com) (cloud-based communications) and [UrbanAirship](http://urbanairship.com) (powering mobile apps).

We’re obviously big believers in the cloud. At FullContact, we’re building a comprehensive suite of [cloud-based APIs to manage contact information](https://web.archive.org/web/20191121012436/https://www.fullcontact.com/developer/) and ultimately solve the world’s contact information problem. (Fun fact: the original company name of FullContact was even ‘CloudCenter.’)

As a result of this powerful shift towards the cloud, the folks at [TechStars](http://techstars.com) have created [TechStars Cloud](http://www.techstars.com/cloud/).

If you’re a cloud-based startup, you should apply to TechStars Cloud. Why? As I’ve written about previously, [TechStars empowers entrepreneurs through incredible mentorship](https://web.archive.org/web/20170512223256/https://www.fullcontact.com/blog/techstars-and-tequila-thoughts-from-our-summer-in-boulder/). And TechStars recently sweetened the pot by adding [$100K of additional financing](http://www.techstars.com/this-week-in-techstars-100000-note-for-every-techstars-company/) from an awesome group of investors.

So don’t delay, you’ve got until November 7th to [get your application in](http://apply.techstars.com). And if you need any advice or help on your application, hit me up at [bart@fullcontact.com](mailto:bart@fullcontact.com?Subject=TechStars%20Cloud) — I’m more than happy to help!