Venture Capital
The Miss with Mario Gabriele
This piece was originally published in The Generalist [https://thegeneralist.substack.com/p/the-miss-steve-schlafman-on-snagging] by Mario Gabriele. It was a pleasure to do this interview with him, and I'm excited to share our conversation with you. Schlaf. For three years before I had the chance to meet Steve Schlafman, I’
Taking A Leap OF Faith
Come to the edge,” he said. “We can’t, we’re afraid!” they responded. “Come to the edge,” he said. “We can’t, We will fall!” they responded. “Come to the edge,” he said. And so they came. And he pushed them. And they flew. — Guillaume Apollinaire I have bittersweet
Inside the Mind of a New York VC
Earlier this summer, I sat down with Bart Clareman of AlleyWatch [https://www.alleywatch.com/] for a wide ranging interview. We talked about my accidental path to venture, the evolution of the tech ecosystem in NYC over the last decade, my human-centric approach to investing, how Primary [https://www.primary.
Doubling Down on NYC: Joining Primary as Venture Partner
I’m thrilled to announce that I’m joining Primary Venture Partners [https://www.primary.vc/] as a Venture Partner. Over the last six years, Ben and Brad have been co-investors, thought partners and friends. Ever since the fall, they have been helping me think through a number of paths
Here’s What You Should Ask Before Marrying A VC
Raising money from VCs is an important step in the company building process. It marks the beginning of a long-term relationship that can last longer than a decade. In my experience investing in and advising countless founders, company building is not rainbows, unicorns and lollipops. Startups are filled with adversity,
The Dilemma of Sunk Costs in Venture Capital
Last week, I bumped into a buddy who runs a fairly large venture-backed company. I asked him how things were going. Rather than getting the common response, “everything is great,” he explained that he had spent the last few quarters developing a new product only to discover the customer response
Decoding the Qualities of a Great VC
Last Friday, I was talking with Parker Thompson [https://twitter.com/pt] of AngelList and creator of Startup L Jackson [https://twitter.com/StartupLJackson?lang=en] about a range of topics from investing in pre-seed companies to building a venture firm from scratch. Towards the end of the call, he
Venture Investments Are Not Bets
Countless times over the last decade, I’ve heard other venture investors refer to their investments as “bets.” Earlier in my venture career, I was absolutely guilty of this because I wasn’t being mindful and probably lacked some necessary empathy. At the time, I don’t think I truly
Startup Pitch Decks
A few weeks ago, Alex Iskold [https://www.linkedin.com/in/iskold/] of TechStars NYC asked me to talk with the Winter 2017 class about constructing an effective fundraising pitch deck. I jumped at the chance because this is an important topic that often comes up with first time and
Why I Invest
Last Friday night after a long week, I decided to go for a long run and listen to a Buddhist lecture [http://www.buddhanet.net/audio-lectures.htm] on the true nature of existence and the self. About ten minutes into the run, I started to contemplate why I have chosen