Venture Studio (19): Lee Hoffman, CEO of Veri

A few weekends ago I sat down with Lee Hoffman, CEO of Veri at TechStarsNYC headquarters during a gathering they were having for the outgoing crop of TechStars companies. (That’s what all the noise is in the background). Many thanks to Dave Tisch and his terrific team for setting this all up and accommodating us.

Lee is a very talented guy who is a both a developer and designer and I jokingly like to say that he and Reece Pacheco are part of a burgeoning “Brown University Mafia” that has descended in NYC of late. I not only learned a lot about Lee’s trajectory as an entrepreneur and about his extraordinary vision for Veri but unwittingly he ended up giving us all a master class on entrepreneurship through the telling of various stories of startups he was involved with, mistakes that were made and many of the ups and downs he's encountered.

You'll find the whole interview here at: Venture Studio

Venture Studio (9): Dave Tisch, Managing Director TechStars NYC

This is Episode (9) of Venture Studio

Welcome to this week's conversation with Dave Tisch, the irrepressible Managing Director of TechStars NYC.

Dave came over to talk just two days after organizing an absolutely EPIC Tech Stars Demo Day at Webster Hall. Eleven companies (that had been whittled down from 600+ applicants) presented in front of 750 NYC investors and entrepreneurs after several months of intense preparation and mentorship. The enthusiasm and energy was simply unreal and the place was bursting at its seams. I was in the crowd and was blown-away by the quality of the presentations and companies.  Dave and his team had of course been busy making this happen for over 7 months. Each company obviously has its own story and I appreciate Dave taking the time to share a number of these with us and describing the unique experience of making the very first TechStars NYC a reality. Enjoy.

1:25 - What was the process behind bringing TechStars to NYC?

3:25 - What's the TechStars network and how does it differ from the regular TechStars model?

5:39 - How did the recent crop of TechStars grads make the roster and what's the application process like?

8:25 - Learn about Migration Box, one of the recent TechStars grads.

10:55 - Learn about Think Near, another recent TechStars grad.

12:42 - Do you have to already have funding to be a part of TechStars?

13:25 - Learn about Shelby TV, another recent TechStars grad.

15:33 - Learn about Veri, another recent TechStars grad.  Why is the story behind their application to TechStars, Dave Tisch's favorite one?

18:45 - Why does Dave Tisch love being the first money in any deal?

19:03 - What's the best way to get Dave's seed fund, The Box Group, to notice your company?

20:20 - Dave talks about TroopSwap, one of the companies in the Box Group portfolio.

24:05 - Who is Fake Dave Tisch?

Click here for Venture Studio (10) w/ Ben Lerer, CEO of Thrillist