Soft Launch Afternoon with Cooley, Starcycle, and Mercury
After nearly a year of gathering New York’s next generation of startup founders through Stealth Mode Mornings, we’re closing out the year with a special finale event designed to bring the community together in a bigger, more intentional way.
Join us for an afternoon of soft-launch startup pitches, founder–investor speed dating, and thoughtful conversations with some of NYC’s best early-stage VCs, operators, and attorneys. Early-stage founders will share what they’ve been building, followed by speed-dating sessions with funds like Forum Ventures, Precursor Ventures, Differential Ventures, Blue Collective, Antler, and more.
This event is built for founders* who are sitting somewhere between pre-launch and pre-seed, have venture-scale ambition, and are ready to open the doors to what they're building.
We’re curating the room deliberately to keep the signal high for everyone involved. Whether you’re soft-pitching your startup for the first time or looking for real-time feedback from investors for an upcoming round, this is an opportunity to:
Share what you’ve been building in a founder-friendly, low-stakes environment
Get immediate insight from investors and legal experts who work with early-stage teams
Meet other pre-seed and pre-launch founders building with the same momentum
Make connections that could turn into future collaborators, advisors — or even your next round lead
This is the capstone to a year of early-morning conversations, hard-won clarity, and quiet building. We can’t wait to bring everyone together for an afternoon that celebrates what’s next.
We're especially excited to invite Mercury to join in on the party for this very special day to celebrate founders and all of their hard work. We look forward to meeting you.
*Investors are also welcome; see FAQ below.
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About your hosts:
Cooley works with startups to launch dynamic new ventures and take them forward. Our legal work with startups often begins prior to company formation and progresses through the full evolution of a startup’s life. Cooley has been ranked the #1 law firm for VC financings and IPOs and we represent 30% of U.S. unicorns.
Starcycle helps founders move on to their new chapters — we help companies shut down faster with minimal liability and headache, so you can focus on what's next. We've helped hundreds of founders figure out their next steps, saving them countless hours and thousands of dollars in the process. Founded by serial founders, we know first-hand the importance of having the right support system and community around you as you move forward.
Mercury offers radically different banking*. Unlike traditional banking that simply holds money, Mercury merges banking with software built for precision and speed to help entrepreneurs accomplish everything they want with their money. With banking, credit cards*, and financial software, Mercury helps more than 200K ambitious companies build great things. To learn more, visit Mercury.com.
*Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC. The IO Card is issued by Patriot Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Mastercard®.
FAQ
What is Stealth Mode Mornings?
Co-hosted by Starcycle and Cooley, Stealth Mode Mornings is a monthly breakfast series bringing together pre-launch founders, or founders in stealth, with VC-scale ambitions for an off-the-record gathering over some delicious food. We typically host 6-8 founders per gathering; it’s a highly curated space meant to genuinely move the needle for your next phase of growth.
Who comes to Stealth Mode Mornings?
Founders who join us truly run the gamut: we’ve had serial founders with multiple multi-million exits, former lawyers and quant scientists, as well as fresh college grads looking to try their hand at entrepreneurship. The only thing we ask is that you’re super early on your current venture — day 0 or even before!
I'm an investor and I'd love to meet early-stage founders. Can I join?
Stealth Mode Mornings are typically founders only, but Soft Launch Afternoon is open to active investors who genuinely love being in the early days and are thoughtful in their approach to supporting builders.