​New to VC is an educational series for a group of relatively new investors who want to be exposed to the best venture and startup thinking. Each event is attended by accredited investors and non-partner VCs that skew intentionally, but not exclusively, toward underrepresented backgrounds.

What makes a great founder? What's going to be the hard thing about starting a company?

​VCs have strongly held views on these questions, but some VCs who move to the other side of the table have had their perspective changed.

​We're interviewing three former VCs turned founders that have had to put the mirror back on themselves and their prior activities as VCs. They'll share what they've learned as founders and how they would have done their VC job differently in hindsight given their founder experience.

​Speakers:

​​Nick Sterlacci, Co-Founder and CEO of Acty AI

​Nick is the Co-Founder & CEO of Glide AI, building the financial infrastructure for AI agents. He is also a former VC associate focused on early stage investing and a Techstars Alum.

​Rachel Lauren, Co-Founder and COO of Debbie, Inc.

​Debbie is an app that’s reimagining financial rewards for the 99%. Rachel is responsible for marketing and business development, having grown the platform to tens of thousands of users as well as working with financial institution partners. She previously worked as a venture capital investor at BDMI (notable sourced investments include Extra, Winx, Zephr). She began her career in equity research at Credit Suisse, covering enterprise software companies, but always dreamt of working directly with innovative technology companies. She received her BA from NYU Stern School of Business.

​Chris Hedley, Co-Founder at Headstart

​Chris Hedley is the Co-Founder of Headstart, an Applied AI Services company that develops custom-built, production-ready AI products for businesses in weeks. Previously, Chris led the Venture Capital strategy across three funds at Bienville Capital, a NYC-based investment firm, and served on the Direct Private Equity team at Mike Bloomberg's family office, Willett Advisors. He has prior operating experience through co-founding Homestead, a real estate investment and property management company, which was acquired in 2022. Chris started his career as an investment banker at Perella Weinberg, and received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

Sponsors:

​​​Haymaker is a public relations firm based in New York, which works with the most exciting high-growth companies operating in the U.S., including Oatly, G2, Gympass, and Pipedrive.  

​​Cooley LLP — Our lawyers advise venture capital firms, corporate VCs, growth equity firms, family offices and high-growth companies on 1,700+ private financings each year. We understand all angles and offer support at all stages of investment. Our integrated, cross-disciplinary team can take you from fund formation to investment to exit, partnering with your internal resources to guarantee seamless collaboration and offering the specialty platform you need to support your portfolio companies.

KPMG — Whether you are looking to reach new heights, embrace technology, plan for an exit, or manage the transition of wealth or your business to the next generation, KPMG Private Enterprise advisers can help you drive your business forward through each stage of the business journey. Your success is our legacy.

​This is event is hosted by nextNYC. To learn more about nextNYC and/or sign up for their newsletter, visit http://next.nyc