This is going to be BIG.

MAY 2, 2025

nextNYC, the startup events platform I run, produces the largest formal VC/Founder intro event at NY Tech Week. Its a tricky question whether you're an associate at a big fund or running a solo GP effort. How do you get 150+ VCs to show up for something? Promise them some good deal flow, of course.

VC 195

VC pitching B2B marketing networking 195

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

AUGUST 11, 2021

I like to think of investing in new things a bit like a football running play. Imagine you are the running back. You’ve been handed the football and you are looking for a hole to open up and run through. What you really want is some running room beyond the opening. And there is running room. In slow motion.

incumbents 363

incumbents communities networking opportunity 363

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

If you pitch someone who is sexist with very little growth or an unworkable idea, you’re most likely going to feel mistreated in the meeting, but also the same company run by a guy wouldn’t have gotten funding either. Who is running their company better? She sees that as the best way to run her business.

advice 476

advice pitching venture capital VC 476

The Seraf Compass

MAY 28, 2025

In the sport of Major League Baseball, the greatest hitters are those who get a hit just one out of every three times at bat and a home run 5 or 6 times out of 100 at bats. In the world of startup company investing, the best-known investors are those who invest in the tiny percentage of companies that make it big.

angel investing 147

angel investing investing investment capital 147

The Seraf Compass

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

Any early stage investor who makes more than one or two investments will certainly run into this issue. Have you ever been in a situation where you are negotiating an investment with an entrepreneur and you can’t agree on the pre-money valuation?

capital 296

capital education entrepreneurs investing 296

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 28, 2021

Many times, that kind of thing can be code for, “You’re 100% going to get burned out working here because you’re surrounded by a bunch of other people with no management experience who have never worked at a world class operations to see how it should even run.

hospitality 480

hospitality board energy pitching 480

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

I am strongly opposed to the monopolies that Apple and Google have over mobile apps that run on iOS and Android. I have written extensively on this blog over the last decade and a half about the significant negative consequences that the two large mobile operating systems have on distribution of software.

finance 72

finance financing development innovation 72

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MAY 20, 2021

I have a bit more control over this blog because I run it on my own domain using open source WordPress software, but most people are blogging on Medium or Substack or some other centralized service these days. You don’t control your own media platform if you run it on a centralized service.

media 354

media networking investing investment 354

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

No one expects a founder to know all of these things at birth, but when you can go to breakfast with a close friend and say, “Explain to me how you ran your fundraising process…” or “Tell me how you successfully hired for marketing” that means they’re going to hit the ground running on every single aspect of growing their company and being a CEO.

ventures 435

ventures networking creativity entrepreneurship 435

The Seraf Compass

NOVEMBER 23, 2022

There is so much more to running a fund than leaping in, chasing companies and slinging cash around. might be, “finding great companies, investing in them and waiting for big financial returns.” And, while your response would be directionally correct, it would be woefully incomplete.

strategy 360

strategy VC investing investment 360

The Seraf Compass

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Travel to almost any part of the world these days and you are likely to run into clusters of entrepreneurship.

venture capital 361

venture capital capital ventures entrepreneurship 361

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

When it happens at companies run by women, the media, disgruntled employees, and their investor board members, burn them at the stake. Pardon the very intentional expression.) This seems especially true when female founders aspire for their companies to fulfill a higher purpose via a lofty narrative.

coworking spaces 545

coworking spaces hospitality culture coworking 545

The Seraf Compass

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Conventional wisdom is that startups with cofounders succeed more often than startups run by solo entrepreneurs. Whether true or not, startups with multiple founders face key issues that will affect the company and its ability to raise money, grow, and ultimately be successful.

angel investing 321

angel investing founder investment investing 321

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

When I started this work a decade or more ago, I would regularly run into well-meaning people in the education system who would say something like “oh, that’s not for my students” and it would p**s me off and I would try to explain that anyone can learn to tell a machine what to do.

education 362

education energy 362

Paul G. Silva

FEBRUARY 11, 2025

” At the time, we were running a startup accelerator for 6 companies. Breaking the “Impossible” at VVM When I was at Valley Venture Mentors, we set this BHAG: “In ten years, catalyze entrepreneurs to change the economy of Western Massachusetts by generating $1 billion in cumulative revenue and investment.”

innovation 130

innovation angel investing accelerator entrepreneurship 130

Entrepreneurs' Organization

MAY 10, 2024

So, I did something wild and illogical in the midst of this chaos that I had never done before: I signed up to run a marathon. Now mind you, I hated running. Plus, running really hurts my knees. At the time, the thought of me running 26.2 I even still love running! I grew up with asthma.

health 272

health real estate strategy entrepreneurship 272

Tomasz Tunguz

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

“AWS’ AI business is a multibillion-dollar revenue run rate business that continues to grow at a triple-digit year-over-year percentage and is growing more than 3x faster at this stage of its evolution as AWS itself grew, and we felt like AWS grew pretty quickly.”

accelerator 90

accelerator development investing investment 90

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 2, 2021

But if those two gifts control us, we can begin to suffer our memories and allow our imaginations to run in the wrong direction rather than using them to inspire creativity and growth. As humans, we have evolved with a fantastic ability to remember and imagine. We, as business owners, need to put employees’ mental health first. (

culture 342

culture creativity coworking health 342

American Entrepreneurship

DECEMBER 11, 2024

Herscus background in deploying innovative technology runs deep. When we first met the team at Cake, it was incredible to see the number of customers deeply engaged with their solution. A seasoned entrepreneur and software engineer, he founded McCoy Medical Technologies in 2016 which was acquired two years later.

investing 98

investing investment entrepreneurship enablement 98

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 10, 2024

In the nearly 30 years since, I’ve come to count on EO and my Forum for support and guidance through every stage of the multiple companies I’ve run and every challenge an entrepreneur can face. Finding Strategic Support Running a business is no easy feat. In fact, it’s more like riding a roller coaster of highs and lows.

entrepreneurs 216

entrepreneurs health support communities 216

The Seraf Compass

NOVEMBER 22, 2023

Helping a CEO prep for a board meeting is super important, but it is a waste if the CEO cannot actually run a good meeting. Well-run board meetings are essential for the success of a company. Here are some tips for running a stellar startup board meeting that you can share with your CEOs.

board 264

board startup 264

Paul G. Silva

APRIL 1, 2025

Rewrite one job description : Convert a position description from task-based to responsibility-based language Old: “Send weekly reports to leadership” New: “Ensure leadership has timely insights to make informed decisions” Run a responsibility clarity exercise : Ask team members to write down what they believe they’re (..)

frameworks 147

frameworks leadership coworking spaces coworking 147

NZ Entrepreneur

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

If you run your business as a company, it offers some personal liability protection, however, it comes with more complex regulations and tax requirements. Operating costs are the day-to-day expenses that keep your startup running smoothly. The ‘best’ structure depends on your specific circumstances, risk tolerance, and long-term goals.

startup 105

startup consulting sustainability frameworks 105

Paul G. Silva

MARCH 11, 2025

We doubled our membership, became profitable, and soon were running out of space. My standing with the board didn’t just recoverit soared. Years later, that same chairman who delivered the tough feedback hired me to be his Chief Innovation Officer!

coworking spaces 130

coworking spaces mentorship coworking board 130

Entrepreneurs' Organization

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

I knew nothing about running a business and had no management experience. Sian Williams, EO Adelaide, Founder and CEO of Here2Home Expect the unexpected, and run with it As a female entrepreneur, I’m constantly made aware that I’m part of a minority, but that’s not always a bad thing. I believe we are moving into a new era.

founder 262

founder advice entrepreneurship entrepreneurs 262

Paul G. Silva

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

Meetings ARE expensive Poorly run meetings drain people of their energy (sometimes of their very soul)! A bad meeting can easily sink the productivity of team members for an entire day, sometimes for a lot longer! That could be worth thousands of dollars in lost productivity.

energy 264

energy development innovation 264

Hunter Walk

OCTOBER 14, 2024

Watching the boom/bust cycle of DTC brands that were running on just the sugar high of venture dollars has given me even more appreciation for those who, yes, require investment capital along the way, but are playing the long game. Over the last few years he’s been a diligent company-builder, brand steward, and community leader.

culture 96

culture collaboration startup financing 96

Hunter Walk

FEBRUARY 22, 2025

What are, in my mind, some examples of needle magnet strategies that exist today?

startup 97

startup VC strategy leadership 97

Revolution

JUNE 30, 2025

Diving into the panel, a few themes emerged and several soundbites stuck: “Cost savings will always sell.”  — Jo Norris, Carbon Reform co-founder and CEO Carbon Reform is helping buildings run cleaner, cooler, and more efficiently — a need thrown into sharp relief during a scorching heatwave.

innovation 130

innovation funders disruption opportunity 130

Hunter Walk

NOVEMBER 11, 2024

Rafa runs Background Capital, and is one of the best partners for early company builders I know. You should start thinking about your next board meeting just after finishing your previous board meeting (assuming you run quarterly meetings). Apoorva was ideating on his next project and was delving deep into the grocery sector.

board 104

board collaboration energy advice 104

Entrepreneurs' Organization

OCTOBER 31, 2024

Thankfully, for those of us who may periodically struggle in managing our mental health while we’re also trying to balance the pressures of running a business and supporting a family, we now benefit from more open discussions and the sharing of helpful tactics on platforms like LinkedIn. Entrepreneurship can be a lonely and stressful journey.

peer-to-peer 169

peer-to-peer health entrepreneurs entrepreneurship 169

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 25, 2022

Still, most founders wouldn’t assume to involve investors and advisors in a regular “board-like” meeting if they didn’t have to—and even those that do may not know how to run it or what to prepare for it. I’ll make it simple. The structure of the meeting should follow some kind of document.

board 365

board founder investing investment 365