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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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: Fund That Flip
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 a great startup each week. There are several startups working to make the world a better place and I want to tell you a little bit more about them. The Startup Of The Week for the week of January 25th is Fund That Flip.
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 a great startup each week. 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 January 25th is Fund That Flip.
Fund That Flip
Founder: Matt Rodak, CEO
Headquarters: New York, New York Operating: United States
One sentence pitch: The easiest way to fund your real estate investments.
In my words: Fund That Flip connects real estate investors, starting at only a $5,000 minimum, who are looking to invest money with house flippers that are looking to borrow money for an upcoming renovation.
In their words: "We are technology, real estate and financial service professionals on a mission to create new opportunities for Investors to take advantage of the positive returns real estate can provide. At the same time, we are helping re-developers access a new source of capital so they can focus on what they do best – finding and rehabilitating homes so they are again livable. Leveraging our team’s diverse expertise and new legislation passed as part of the JOBS Act, we are building the preferred real estate investment marketplace for investors and re-developers."
Accomplishments:
How it Works:
If you want to learn more or let me know your thought on this week's Startup Of The Week you can contact me here.
Investing In Moonshots
There is a reason that the header image on this site is a scene from the movie Tomorrowland. I believe thats startups can work to build a better tomorrow. I believe when that work is applied to tremendous goals, like moonshots, it can result in incredible outcomes for a better world.
There is a reason that the header image on this site is a scene from the movie Tomorrowland. I believe thats startups can work to build a better tomorrow. I believe when that work is applied to tremendous goals, like moonshots, it can result in incredible outcomes for a better world.
Moonshots focus on a huge problem, a radical solution and breakthrough technology. It usually takes a particular type of fresh, audacious thinking to even conceive of a moonshot, and then an amazing team with passionate leaders to pursue it.
Urban Enhancement
Human Enhancement
One of the best new ways to think about moonshots is the concept of 10x thinking or thinking exponentially. This weekend I mentored a Team X event in New York City which had 2 challenges. The Urban Enhancement challenge was to focus on a 10x improvement to resolve safety, security and health challenges through Robotics, AI and Biotech. The other challenge was to figure out a Moonshot solution for Human Enhancement, to resolve accessibility and mobility challenges through Robotics, AI and Biotech. Teams for both challenges had some BIG solutions that could change the lives of billions of people on earth.
It is always interesting to encourage people to think bigger. Exponential thinking is a mindset and when applied it can result in 10x or even 100x results. A great example explored this weekend was of what Tesla did with the electric motor and vehicle. Tesla committed to the moonshot. Their mission statement was to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport by bringing compelling mass market electric cars to market as soon as possible. Tesla is now the premier luxury vehicle. Recently it broke consumer reports rating system scoring the car 103 out of 100.
Meanwhile competitor Fiskar built a hybrid gas and electric vehicle. Many investors played it safe and invested in Fiskar as it seemed like a smoother and safer transition to an electric motor future. However, Fiskar failed and went into bankruptcy.
"If you invest in a bridge technology you are likely to be left behind, think 10x" - @jackhidary pic.twitter.com/G5a61dDCl0
— Kevin Siskar (@TheSiskar) November 7, 2015A trend is happening where moonshots are increasing in their success rate over less ambitious ventures. This is enabled by the rapid growth in access to new and emerging technologies. If you invest in a bridge technology you are likely to be left behind. So if you are going to do something, it is time you start thinking bigger about it. Think exponential. Think 10x.
A Complete Guide To The New York Startup Ecosystem
In local regions startup ecosystems can be fragmented, competitive, and sometimes hidden to newcomers, which can be detrimental for local startups and the growth of the community. The New York City Startup Ecosystem Canvas seeks to provide local entrepreneurs with a clear list of resources for every stage of their startup journey. A complete guide to the New York City Startup scene, Silicon Alley, all in one place for the community.
In local regions startup ecosystems can be fragmented, competitive, and sometimes hidden to newcomers, which can be detrimental for local startups and the growth of the community. The New York City Startup Ecosystem Canvas seeks to provide local entrepreneurs with a clear list of resources for every stage of their startup journey. A complete guide to the New York City Startup scene, Silicon Alley, all in one place for the community.
With applications for the next semester of the New York City Founder Institute coming to a close, we are excited to release the New York Startup Ecosystem Canvas. It was developed by the Founder Institute and local New York City leaders Kevin Siskar and Ramphis Castro.
If you know of a great resource that you feel should be added to the New York Startup Ecosystem Canvas feel free to let me know on Twitter @TheSiskar.