No Filter: What VCs Are Really Thinking, feat. Leslie Feinzaig and Charlie O'Donnell
"We're interested" isn't a yes. But nobody tells you why.
Charlie O'Donnell — founder of Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, VC coach, NYU lecturer, and author of Founder Unfriendly — has spent two decades on both sides of the table. He knows exactly why VCs act the way they do. And he's not afraid to say it out loud.
Join Charlie and Leslie Feinzaig for a candid, unscripted fireside that pulls back the curtain on how investment decisions actually get made — and what early-stage founders can do about it.
Who This Is For
Early-stage founders
About the Speaker
Charlie O’Donnell is a prominent VC coach and entrepreneurship lecturer at NYU’s Courant Institute, with 20 years in the NYC startup community. He was the first analyst at Union Square Ventures and helped First Round Capital launch its NYC office, sourcing investments like GroupMe and Moat.
In 2012, he founded Brooklyn Bridge Ventures (BBV), the first VC fund in Brooklyn, funding over 100 local startups, including Hungryroot and Petal, while gaining a reputation as a highly accessible early-stage investor.
O’Donnell has been named to Business Insider’s 100 Most Influential People in NY Tech five times and featured on City & State’s Tech Power 50. He has spoken at SXSW and Techcrunch Disrupt and taught at Fordham and NYU-Poly. He also served on the leadership committee of Tech:NYC. He lives in Park Slope with his family and has published his writing at www.thisisgoingtobebig.com since 2004.
Brought to you by Graham & Walker VC
Graham & Walker is an early-stage venture fund rooted in a powerful founder community. We back pre-consensus founders and ideas that break the mold. Our mission is to change the face of public markets by backing a new guard of founders and CEOs. We invest from pre-seed to seed+ in software-first companies reimagining the systems that shape our daily lives.
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