AI Can't Fund You, But Your Customer Calls Might
What you'll learn:
The person you're cold emailing for a customer call today might be writing angel checks in five years. Buyers, operators, and founders in your space are on their own career trajectories — the ones worth talking to now are often the ones who end up with capital, connections, and credibility later.
AI can simulate a customer conversation. It can't build a relationship. Every informational interview or discovery call is a thread you can pull on for years — referrals, introductions, co-founders, investors. A chatbot gives you information. A real person gives you access to their entire network.
Your funding network doesn't start when you decide to raise — it starts now. The founders running adjacent startups, the early operators in your space, the buyers who really get the problem you're solving: map where their careers are going, not just where they are. The person who can't write you a check today might be the one who leads your seed round in 2031.
More about the speaker:
Charlie O’Donnell (Courant Faculty) is a New York City venture capitalist and community builder. He began his career at Union Square Ventures, where he was the firm's first analyst. He then helped launch First Round Capital’s NYC office, where he backed Backupify (acq by Datto), GroupMe (acq. by Skype), and Singleplatform (acq by Constant Contact). In 2012, he founded Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, the first venture capital firm in Brooklyn, investing in more than 100 local startups, including Hungryroot, Brigit (acq. by Upbound), and Radformation. He also founded nextNYC, the city’s most active tech community and events platform, and teaches entrepreneurship at NYU’s Courant Institute.
A native and lifelong New Yorker, Charlie is a triathlete, ice hockey goalie, and founder of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse, a community kayaking program. He has been writing online at This is Going to Be Big since 2004.
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