Closing A Chapter
After almost five years as Managing Director of Founder Institute New York, I will be moving on to my next adventure. I first became involved with Founder Institute back in 2012 as a founder in the program, before signing on as Director of the New York program in 2015. I am very proud of the growth Founder Institute has had over that period of time, both on a global level, and across New York.
Queue the music! It’s time to turn and face the strange. Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.
After almost five years as Managing Director of Founder Institute New York, I will be moving on to my next adventure. I first became involved with Founder Institute back in 2012 as a founder in the program, before signing on as Director the New York program in 2015. I am very proud of the growth Founder Institute has had over that period of time, both on a global level, and across New York.
On a global level we have scaled Founder Institute to almost 200 cities around the world and I have been very fortunate to meet amazing founders, mentors, and ecosystem leaders from every corner of the planet. Last year we managed to bring Founder Institute back to my hometown of Buffalo as well, a feat which I am immensely proud of.
In New York in particular, I feel fortunate to have worked directly with over 150 founders as they launched their companies. Watching a person manifest something out of nothing, based on purely will, has always been a fascinating & rewarding process for me. It has been an amazing experience to get in the trenches and help with the day to day problem-solving founders have to face. Digging in on team formation, branding, customer development, revenue models, legal, go-to-market, product development, scaling growth, fundraising and more. I loved every minute of it and can not wait to see how these founders evolve alongside their companies.
These past few years would not have been possible without some of the amazing people around me, especially those who went to bat for me when I was starting out, to allow me this incredible experience. Many of whom I have previously featured on this blog and my podcast. You know who you are, and I just want to say thank you! And of course, a massive thank you to the founders and global team at Founder Institute who I had the amazing experience to work with. Rest assured, I am not going anywhere though! You all know how to reach me.
My personal mission is to “Help founders improve the lives of one billion people” and I have no intention of stopping now!
I have some very exciting announcements coming shortly regarding my next chapter!
Founder Institute New York Twenty
On October 2nd, five new companies and six founders graduated from Founder Institute New York as the 20th cohort in New York City! The companies in this cohort represented several industries including augmented reality, healthcare, real estate, financial technology, and more. A noteworthy mention for this cohort is that graduates are 83%, female founders!
Founder Institute New York 20
On October 2nd, five new companies and six founders graduated from Founder Institute New York as the 20th cohort in New York City! We held the event at the wonderful Stand Up NY club on the Upper West Side of Manhattan! The companies in this cohort represented several industries including augmented reality, healthcare, real estate, financial technology, and more.
A noteworthy mention for this cohort is that graduates are 83%, female founders! I want to thank the New York founders of FI NY 20 and I am excited to keep working together and you go forward building your company.
I want to thank the New York Mentors and the Founder Institute team for all the hard work and time put into helping the founders of FI NY 20.
Founder Institute New York 20
MRX World - Restoring ancient monuments to their full magnificence through AR.
Patient Orator - Improving healthcare delivery while eliminating inequities.
Rizep - An AI-powered analyzing platform for residential real estate investors.
SavTax - Taxes automated in a powerful new way.
Tripographers - Access trustworthy travel itineraries and recommendations.
The Inaugural Founder Institute Buffalo Cohort
I am very excited to say that we have graduated the Inaugural Founder Institute Buffalo cohort on July 18th. Nine new companies and founders graduated from Founder Institute Buffalo from our Spring cohort. The companies represented several industries ranging from fashion, to electric vehicles, to daycare and more.
Founder Institute Buffalo
I am very excited to say that we have graduated the Inaugural Founder Institute Buffalo cohort on July 18th. Nine new companies and founders graduated from Founder Institute Buffalo from our Spring cohort. The companies represented several industries ranging from fashion, to electric vehicles, to daycare and more.
I want to thank the Buffalo Mentors and the Founder Institute team for all the hard work and time put into helping the founders of FI Buffalo 2019. As well as the rest of the amazing local director team; Scott Wayman, Lauren Baynes, & Cody Semrau! I want to also thank the founders of FI Buffalo 2019 and I am very excited to continue supporting them on their journey.
Founder Institute Buffalo 2019
Bands To Watch - Fan engagement platform for venues and artists.
Eco-Carriage - Providing alternative fueling, sourced from zero-emission energy resources.
FashInPost - Realtime fashion feedback.
Inacquis - Attract and screen the next generation of talent.
Kubed Root - Indoor co-farming.
Lint - Modern wash and fold.
Reiner United - Unique online storefronts.
SmartPlay Playcare - A new kind of day care solution.
Third Estate Analytics - Driving neighborhood change with data.
Founder Institute New York Nineteen
On May 28th, five new companies and seven founders graduated from Founder Institute New York as the 19th cohort. The companies represented several industries including real estate, financial planning, music therapy and more.
Founder Institute New York 19
On May 28th, five new companies and seven founders graduated from Founder Institute New York as the 19th cohort. The companies represented several industries including real estate, financial planning, music therapy and more.
I want to thank the New York Mentors and the Founder Institute team for all the hard work and time put into helping the founders of FI NY 19. I want to also thank the New York founders of FI NY 19 and I am excited to continue supporting their journey.
Founder Institute New York 19
Knowledge to Own - Individually matching home buyers with home buying programs.
MoneyStack - Modern financial planning app for couples.
NestIQa - Helping landlords and tenants through the entire rental process.
Ownum - A unique IOT solution for monitoring consumption of medication containers.
StarTag - Changing people's lives through music.
Founder Institute New York Eighteen
On January 8th, eight new companies graduated from Founder Institute New York as the 18th cohort. The Founder Institute New York reviews are in and this was a great cohort to work with.
Founder Institute New York 18
On January 8th, eight new companies and 9 founders graduated from Founder Institute New York as the 18th cohort. This was the first Founder Institute New York cohort in partnership with Loyal.vc, which will be investing in each of the graduating companies! The companies represented several industries including biotech, fitness, edtech, erotica, fashion and more.
I want to thank the New York Mentors and the Founder Institute team for all the hard work and time put into helping the founders of FI NY 18. I want to also thank the New York founders of FI NY 18 and I am excited to continue supporting their journey.
Founder Institute New York 18
Body Elevated - Creating hyper-personalized fitness programs using computer vision.
CapCell Biologics - Enzyme replacement therapy using NASA carbon nanotube capsules.
Gear Cities - Marketplace connecting owners of sports gear with prospective renters.
Go Traceable - Helping brands find the right manufacturers to produce their fashion products.
Lessonbee - School based health and sex education platform and marketplace.
Paid Exposure - Seamlessly connecting social media influencers with businesses.
Sound Sensual- online marketplace allowing anyone to create, share, sell & enjoy erotic audio.
Zydello - Bringing the trunkshow experience online for fashion designers.
Founder Institute New York Seventeen
On August 28th, eleven new companies graduated from Founder Institute New York as the 17th cohort.
Founder Institute New York
On August 28th, eleven new companies graduated from Founder Institute New York as the 17th cohort. The Founder Institute New York reviews are in and this was a great cohort to work with. The companies represented several industries including coworking, influencers, cancer, travel, events, fashion, e-sports and more.
As always, I want to thank the New York Mentors and the Founder Institute team for all their work and time put into helping the founders of FI NY 17. I want to also thank the founders of FI NY 17 for being so great throughout the semester. I am excited to drink out of the amazing mugs they kindly gave all the mentors. I am very excited to work with all of the founders as they continue to grow over the next several years.
Founder Institute New York 17
Artfuse - Putting street performers on the map in real-time.
Brnder - Helping influencers establish and grow their personal brand.
Curbicus - The clean compostable solution to dog waste for urban pet parents.
Fantasy Gods - An interactive daily sports fantasy game.
Kontomo - A digital publishing system enabling anonymous feedback for the performing arts.
LookStyler - A global marketplace for professional stylists.
One Remission - Empowering cancer survivors to stay in remission.
Redefined - Helping users secure income in retirement, not just helping save a nest egg.
The Lighthouse - Connecting young people with a network of young professionals.
Serene Ofiices - Helping mental health professionals grow their private practice.
Viahhey - Making viewing traditional travel content on social media, bookable.
Congratulating Founder Institute New York Sixteen
On May 8th, fourteen new companies graduated Founder Institute New York as the 16th cohort.
On May 8th, fourteen new companies graduated from Founder Institute New York as the 16th cohort. The companies represented several industries including telemedicine, augmented reality, fin-tech, blockchain, automated travel, mobile tattoos, real estate and more.
As always, I want to thank the New York Mentors and the Founder Institute team for all their work and time put into helping the founders of FI NY 16. I want to also thank the founders of FI NY 16 for being so great throughout the semester. The "Unicorn Herder" shirt they created for me is gold. It is included in the many pictures below! I am very excited to work with all of the founders as they continue to grow over the next several years.
Founder Institute New York 16
Alternative Learning - Alternative employee training for financial institutions.
Arella - Connecting precisions care experts and patients.
Augmented Review - Changing how industrial designers review a 3D mobile mockups.
After All - Share memories, stories, and lessons from a life well lived.
Egg Fund - Helping the 1 in 8 Americans with infertility afford their dream to have a family.
Meddy - Cloud-based, patient-owned health records platform.
Miramom - Connecting working professional parents with flexible jobs.
ModiPhit - Voice enabled personal training app.
Spot On - Ride hailing marketplace for pets and the people who love them.
Tatjack - Mobile marketplace connecting tattoo artists and customers.
Tenshey - Advancing gender diversity through executive coaching.
Transparentcity - Sharing apartment experiences with the community.
Urban Trips - Automated generation of customized travel agendas in the worlds best cities.
WILO - Send and receive video messages with digital cash gifts.
Welcome The Newest Founder Institute Philadelphia Graduates
On March 1st, Founder Institute Philadelphia graduated seven new companies.
On March 1st, Founder Institute Philadelphia graduated seven new companies.
A massive thank you to all the Mentors and the whole Founder Institute Philly team for all their work to help the founders. I want to also thank the founders of Founder Institute Philadelphia for being so dedicated to their company's mission throughout the semester. Best of luck to all of the founders as they continue to build their company to achieve their vision.
Founder Institute Philadelphia
Consolibox - Safe keeping for all of life's important stuff.
Day One Solutions - Improving college student outcomes.
Deciding Vote - Match with candidates who care about the same things you do.
FundingFuel - Invest in pre-vetted franchises.
Murality - The world is your gallery.
On Your Slyvs - Wearable designs that inspire and empower.
SASTE - Technology to support organizations providing mentorship programming for women.
LIVE EVENT! Cryptocurrency, ICO, & Blockchain Law in 2018 with Joe Daniels of McCarter & English
This episode comes to you from the heart of New York City for our first live podcast episode discussing cryptocurrency, ICO, & blockchain law!
Joe Daniels, Co-Chair of McCarter & English Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies practice
This episode comes to you from the heart of New York City for our first live podcast episode discussing cryptocurrency, ICO, & blockchain law. In late January almost 100 founders gathered at the offices of McCarter & English for our January Founder Institute Meetup! The crypto founders there heard from Joe Daniels, who is the Co-Chair of the McCarter & English's Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies practice. Joe has worked on numerous SAFT & token offerings, including San Francisco based Quantstamp, which just raised $30 million in its pre-sale, along with Augmate, The Valorem Foundation, RealECoin, VIMarkets, CoinBoost, and RecylcleGO.
During this event, Joe reviewed the current cryptocurrency, blockchain, & initial coin offering laws in 2018. Learn the key things that you need to know about ICO's, the SEC, international business, SAFT agreements, and more. If you are interested in understanding the legalities around cryptocurrencies, tokens, and the blockchain, then you will definitely enjoy this episode. The slides that Joe is going over during his presentation are available below if you want to follow along. They are packed with information, such as:
What are Blockchain Tokens (Cryptocurrencies)
What is an ICO
How much has been raised in ICOs / SAFTs
How do SAFT agreements work
Regulatory Issues w/ ICOs
The SEC's response to the emergence of cryptocurrencies
Current Best Practices for cryptocurrencies
Follow Along With All The Slides From The Event:
Listen to this episode now:
Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned!
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
You can find the full transcript of this episode here.
Be sure to listen and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform.
Celebrating Founder Institute New York Fifteen
On November 14th, nine new companies graduated Founder Institute as the 15th New York cohort.
On November 14th, nine new companies graduated Founder Institute as the 15th New York cohort. The companies represented several industries including space, mobile video, fin-tech, immigration, real estate, sports media, enterprise sales, and digital retail.
I want to thank the Mentors and the Founder Institute New York team for all their help and time put in to helping the founders of FI NY 15. I want to also thank the founders of FI NY 15 being so great throughout the summer semester. The custom shirts are pretty amazing as well, pictures below! I am very excited to work with all of the companies as they continue to grow and evolve.
Founder Institute New York 15
Diasppo - Helping internationals secure internships and job sponsorships.
Insider Rental - Increasing real estate building transparency.
Postadium - Enhancing the soccer fan experience.
Process Pure - Opportunity management software for B2B sales.
Ranked - Rating student culture at every college in the nation.
Rater Bee - Digital ratings for in-store retail associates.
Rose Galactic - Making CubeSat access to low earth orbit as accessible as possible.
String Flix - Effortlessly stringing mobile video clips together across the world.
Transfer Impact - Easily transferring cashless funds, directly to those who are unbanked and in need.
How Adeo Ressi Empowered 2,700+ People To Become Startup Founders
Over the summer we sat down with Adeo Ressi, the CEO of the Founder Institute, a startup accelerator program that operates in nearly 200 cities worldwide.
Adeo Ressi
Over the summer we sat down with Adeo Ressi, the CEO of the Founder Institute, a startup accelerator program that operates in nearly 200 cities worldwide. Throughout his time as a founder, Adeo has pioneered innovations in the protection of founder rights, the raising of early-stage capital and the scaling of new businesses.
Previous to the Founder Institute, Adeo has helped to create nearly $2 billion in shareholder value by founding or running nine businesses, including TheFunded, Game Trust, Xceed and Total New York. Adeo previously served on the Board of the X Prize Foundation to pursue his interests in space exploration and techniques to motivate human achievement. Throughout this episode it is clear that Adeo is passionate about mentoring Founders, space exploration, inspiring people to achieve their greatness, and more which includes:
The personality traits of the best founders
How The Funded improved transparency in the VC industry
The role fluid intelligence plays in entrepreneurs
How Adeo helped 2,700 plus founders grow through the Founder Institute
Managing your investors and protecting your equity
How to build startup ecosystems
Why maintaining focus and avoiding distractions is mission critical
How do you give meaning to your life's work
Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"What is the end game? Where do you see Founder Institute and all your life’s work going?"
Quote Of The Episode:
"There are a lot of shiny things in the sand, that look very appealing to you and may be a cause for you to think about pivoting or adjusting the business model. I can tell you that most of the shiny things in the sand are not diamonds, they are knives waiting to kill you. You have to be very, very, very diligent to remain focused on your core mission"
Links from this episode:
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
You can find the full transcript of this episode here.
Be sure to listen and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform.
Listen to this episode now:
Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned!
Introducing Founder Institute New York 14
I am excited to introduce the six new companies that have graduated from Founder Institute New York.
I am excited to introduce you to the 14th cohort of Founder Institute New York. Last Monday six new companies graduated FI NY. Companies from the 14th batch are listed below and span across industries such augmented reality, fashion, internet of things, hardware, SaaS, and real estate.
We are very grateful to the time and energy that is given to the graduating companies by our generous FI NY mentors. Congratulations to the new founders and companies of Founder Institute New York! This is just the start of your entrepreneurial journey and I look forward to working with you all going forward.
Founder Institute New York 14
Ceeq - Luxury convertible bags to take you from professional to functional.
Invoira - Automating the supplier payment process.
Menusnap - Translating restaurant dishes through augmented reality.
MERE - Direct to consumer luxury knitwear brand for socially conscious consumers.
Perceptive Things - Protecting real estate properties from damaging internal incidents.
Okupied - Helping rental property owners manage their business on the go.
What Happens When Every Accelerator In New York City Comes Together
Without further ado and after months of work, I am happy to announce to you; the New York City Innovation Collective.
Supporting startup founders to help them grow their companies is my biggest passion.
Through my work as Managing Director of the Founder Institute, a startup accelerator in New York, I have been incredibly fortunate to be able to do just that for a few years now. Doing this well requires a lot of work and even more help. It would not be possible to support our amazing founders without the remarkable dedication of our team, our tremendous mentors, monthly events, partnerships, supporting sponsors, and so much more. There is an exorbitant amount of effort that goes into making any great startup accelerator tick.
So I, along with a few other NYC Managing Directors got to thinking about how can we bring the same level of support we give to our founders; to help support the Accelerators, Incubators and Innovation programs themselves. If we can help improve them, then perhaps we can make a pretty big dent in helping to grow the entire overall New York City startup ecosystem.
Without further ado and after months of work, I am happy to announce to you; the New York City Innovation Collective! We have officially incorporated a nonprofit to form an alliance of NYC's top technology organizations working together to support and grow our amazing community. The Collective is now comprised of over 80 incredible New York City accelerators, incubators, and platforms of innovation. It is our mission to shape and strengthen the entire startup ecosystem through increased collaboration, transparency and access for everyone involved.
So what happens when all these organizations come together?
For founders and everyone involved it looks like better access to local accelerators, incubators, and innovation programs. It means superior mentors, more connections to investors, stronger curriculums, deeper partnerships, improved events, and more. All of this additional support resulting in stronger companies throughout the local startup ecosystem!
If you want to see for yourself what this looks like then please join us for the NY Annual Startup Ecosystem Summit to be held on Friday April 28th in New York.
I personally could not be more excited for the future of the startup ecosystem in New York City and everything that is happening here! It has been an incredible journey thus far, and on the macro level, we are just getting started. If you would like to get involved with the Innovation Collective in New York City or in another city let me know! I can't wait to hear from you!
Announcing Founder Institute New York 13
I am excited to announce that Monday of this week eight new companies have graduated from Founder Institute New York.
Founder Institute New York Fall 2016 - credit: Sally Kung
I am excited to announce that Monday of this week, eight new companies have graduated from Founder Institute New York.
Companies from the 13th batch of Founder Institute New York are listed below and span across industries such as fin-tech, diamond trading, fashion, e-sports, artificial intelligence, social, real estate tech, and more.
As always we are extremely grateful to the time and energy given to the new companies by our generous FI NY mentors. Congratulations to the new founders and companies of Founder Institute New York! This is just the beginning of the journey and I look forward to working with you all going forward.
Founder Institute New York 13
Access Square - Improving investor access to the management of public companies.
BucketCheck - Create and accomplish your bucket list with your friends.
Diamond Hedge - The first price comparison with over $5 Billion dollars of diamonds to choose from.
GameBase - Developing localized mobile e-sports games.
Klothe - Connecting consumers with new and independent fashion brands.
LocaHolic - Artificial intelligence to make sharing great restaurants easy.
Minque - Connecting curious minds with educated answers.
ViaHome - Platform connecting investors with sponsors of affordable housing developments.
How Matt Rodak Plans To Fund Every House Flip In America with Fund That Flip
Any amount of research into the seemingly eternal-growing market of real estate investment will almost surely make one familiar with Matt Rodak, Founder and CEO of Fund That Flip.
Matt Rodak
Any amount of research into the seemingly eternal-growing market of real estate investment will almost surely make one familiar with Matt Rodak. The 2007 John Carroll grad is the founder and CEO of Fund That Flip, a company which allows anyone to apply for fast and affordable funding in the rehabilitative real estate investment business. The New York based startup had already raised $2 million by April 2016, shortly after graduating from Manhattan's Entrepreneur Roundtable Accelerator in the summer of 2015 and Founder Institute New York prior to that. Fund That Flip finds its niche by bridging the gap between accredited investors and vetted real estate rehab projects in the U.S.
On this episode of Ambition Today, Matt Rodak discusses his seemingly inevitable entrepreneurial roots (despite his "best efforts") as the son of a business owner. He explains how his relationship with his father, and him owning his own company before and during college, led to Matt's on-again, off-again kinship with business ownership. Today, Matt capitalizes on the experiences of his youth by taking action to solve the problems he notices in his industry, such as streamlining the loan application process for prospective "flippers". We hear about his journey to where he is, his advice on how to get there, and much more:
Maturing in an entrepreneurial-spirited family.
Paying for college by advancing a teenage lawn-mowing gig to a profitable business that he was able to sell during his sophomore year at JCU.
Being introduced to the real estate market through his early exposure to landscaping.
What to study in college vs. what to leave to education via real-world experience.
Bringing an entrepreneurial spirit to a non-entrepreneurial position at a large business.
Using lessons from upper management to implement starting a business.
Creating a business to streamline and eliminate the fallacies of market norms.
Employing the JOBS Act to capitalize on a brand-new industry.
Ownership vs. Accountability in life.
Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"How do you align the ambitions of your team with the ambitions of the company?"
Links from this episode:
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
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Founder Institute New York
Presenting Founder Institute New York 12
Founder Institute New York 12 includes new companies from across several industries such as virtual reality, international food, HR-tech, weddings, fashion, social media, and more.
FINY12: Summer 16
Tuesday of this week we had our Graduate Showcase event bringing together the graduating companies of Founder Institute New York 12 (Summer 16), our New York Founder X Alumni, and our monthly Startup Founder 101 Meetup. Here are some of the great photos from our event:
The Founder Institute New York Summer 2016 cohort came to an end with 14 new companies graduating. The twelfth batch of the Founder Institute New York includes companies from across several industries such as virtual reality, international food, HR-tech, weddings, fashion, social media, and more.
I would like to thank the great mentors here in New York for the incredible lessons, experience, time, and wisdom brought to each semester's graduates. Without any further ado, I give you #FINY12.
Founder Institute New York 12
Bridal Playbook - Tell us your vision, sit back and relax while wedding vendors send you quotes.
Candogram - Job match technology using unique machine learning & big data.
Factual VR - Capture and reproduce crime scenes using Virtual Reality technology.
Happo - Simplifying your children's birthday planning.
Home Abroad - Discover Africa through textiles.
Home Matcher - Find your dream home before it's for sale.
Moro Labs - Bringing ethnic foods to their global diasporas with Baegopa.
Nekai Leon - A socially conscious & contemporary fashion brand with a personalized shopping experience.
ONYO - The power of choice is yours, always get the food you want.
Own Your Crisis - SaaS for pre-planning family emergencies
Paxi - Native tongue ride sharing for international visitors.
SocioSpree - A curated marketplace for successfully crowdfunded products.
Tagland Toys - Simple, organic, fun plush toys for babies.
The Weekend SPIN - Automatically capture and share your weekend.
Forget the Cronut, You Need To Try Mise En Place
Mise en place believes in bringing people back around the dinner table by designing a home cooking experience that is both convenient, and fulfilling. If you want to try Mise En Place use the code "siskarlovesmep" and you will get $15 off your first order!
It's time to bring people back around the dinner table, not back around the stove. Cooking dinner shouldn't require standing by the stove for the same amount of time as it takes to watch two episodes of Game of Thrones. Meticulously preparing, chopping, dicing, mixing, and cooking so you can eat for 20 minutes all before you have to clean up, is no longer ideal in todays fast paced world. I'm looking at you Grocery Stores, Fresh Direct, Blue Apron & Hello Fresh...
It's the prepping and the clean up that are the biggest time consumers when cooking a fresh dinner. The cook part of cooking, is the part I actually enjoy. I have tried many meal kit companies in the past year but there is one that shines above the rest.
Mise en place (mepNYC for short & those that don't speak French) believes in bringing people back around the dinner table by designing a home cooking experience that is both convenient, and fulfilling. They successfully address the "last mile of cooking", the prep, and are the next evolution of the current meal-kit industry. And by handling all the prep work earlier in the day, you use many less dishes when cooking the meal so you save on the clean up too.
In my honest opinion the food is delicious. If you want to try Mise En Place use the code "siskarlovesmep" and you will get $15 off your first order! If you want to bring your family back around the dinner table, I highly recommend giving mise en place a try!
David S. Rose Explains How The New Startup Crowdfunding Rules Affect You & His New Book The Startup Checklist
On this episode of Ambition Today David S. Rose explains his new book The Startup Checklist, how the new startup crowdfunding rules affect you & angel investing 101.
David Rose, The Startup Checklist
On this episode of Ambition Today David S. Rose explains his new book The Startup Checklist, how the new startup crowdfunding rules affect you & angel investing 101. A third generation serial entrepreneur, David's new book The Startup Checklist which is now a New York Times Bestseller. David is also the author of the Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money and Having Fun Investing in Startups, as well as the Founder and CEO at Gust.
A man of many titles: Entrepreneur, Angel Investor, Mentor, and Author; David has had an incredible career starting several businesses. Crain's New York Business has called David "the father of angel investing in New York".
Today we learn about how he got started as a founder, became an angel investor, and where he is now as an Author and CEO. We cover the basics of how angel investing in startups works and unpack what the new SEC crowdfunding rules actually mean for startups, your friends, your family and you. We also learn about:
How an Urban Affairs degree enhanced David's views on business.
Why he started Angel Investing.
How NY Angels was created.
How do you set the foundation for a great startup company.
Angel Investing 101.
What is an Accredited Investor.
How Title 3 of the JOBS Act impacts startups and you.
What the new SEC crowdfunding rules mean if your income or net worth is below $100k.
What the new SEC crowdfunding rules mean if your income or net worth is above $100k.
If a founder decides to fundraise from non-accredited civilians, what do they need to know?
What platforms are enabling crowdfunding right now?
How can you invest in startups now.
Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
Why does success matter in the first place? Why not just live a simple life in a fishing town?
Links from this episode:
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS, on Google Play Music or Stitcher for Android.
Listen to this episode now:
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Founder Institute New York
FINY11 Graduates Founder Institute New York
Last week the Founder Institute New York graduated the Spring 2016 cohort with 12 promising new companies. The eleventh batch of the Founder Institute in New York includes companies from across several industries.
Founder Institute New York Spring 2016
Last week the Founder Institute New York graduated the Spring 2016 cohort with 12 promising new companies. The eleventh batch of the Founder Institute in New York includes companies from across several industries such as film, childhood education, real estate, fin-tech, retail, HR-tech, fashion and more. As always, I am very grateful for the incredible lessons, experience, and wisdom brought to each semester's graduates by our great mentors here in New York.
Founder Institute New York 11
Clapper - Streamlining communication and logistics for media productions.
GigSesh - Helping professionals make extra cash by connecting them to advice seekers.
Mindsprinkles - Sprinkling culture into your child’s screentime.
NvestN - Low cost robo-investing platform for the underserved market of investors.
PicketFencer - Find a hometown that fits.
Prix Fixed - Where planning is not the event.
Real Assembly - The future of real estate crowdfunding.
Skour - Mobile storefront for brick and mortar boutiques.
SquarePeg - Intelligent assessment based job matching for candidates and employers.
TeddyMozart - Let your memories transcend borders and time.
TellyVizion - Where artist's work and shows are compensated directly by the audience.
Ushu - Custom tailored shoes to your unique foot's shape.
Startup Of The Week: TeddyMozart
The Startup Of The Week I have selected for the week of May 30th is Teddy Mozart. The first smart toy dedicated to connecting families across the world to share love and inspire growth in young children through music.
I am starting a new blog segment called the "Startup Of The Week", or S.O.T.W.™ for short, where I plan to highlight some great startups. There are several startups working to make the world a better place and I want to tell you a little bit more about some of them.
The Startup Of The Week I have selected for the week of May 30th is TeddyMozart.
Company: TeddyMozart
Founder: Carlton Bennett, Founder & CEO
Headquarters: Brooklyn, New York Operating: Globally
One sentence pitch: The first smart toy dedicated to connecting families across the world to share love and inspire growth in young children through music.
In my words: The app technology and the plush bear that come together to make TeddyMozart, create a unique experience that allows a child and family member to feel connected in a fun, loving, engaging and playful way.
In their words: “Families can use the TeddyMozart app and easily record and store a family's traditional songs, lullabies and stories from anywhere and share it with young children from generation to generation, forever. Young children get to listen to these musical experiences through the comfort of a high quality TeddyMozart plush toy.”
Accomplishments:
Who is product for:
- Family members who believe in preserving their voice through memories.
- Parents who want to set the mood or inspire kids with a song.
- Busy parents who like to set playlists of songs unique to their child's daily routine.
- Family members wanting to provide a unique and memorable gift experience.
- Parents who want to provide a great companion for their kids.
How It Works:
If you want to learn more about the company or team behind this week's Startup Of The Week you can contact me here.