Gotham Gal

24 hours in Los Angeles

I love Los Angeles.  I went to Los Angeles this past week to my nieces Grandparents and Special Persons day.  Our kids had the same thing at their school during their elementary years.  The schools are similar except we are on the east coast and they are on the west coast.  This is my niece Rubys last year before moving in to the middle school so I was the closer of this event. 

Happened to be her birthday the night I flew in so it was perfect.  We went to Mr Chows for dinner.  She loves Chinese food so I assume everyone figured it would be special.  We had a great time but honestly I can not believe people actually still go to Mr. Chows.  The food is just terrible.  There was not one thing worth eating.  The sate is neon orange, the duck is dried out, the spare ribs appear to have been cooked days ago and reheated, it is awful.  The worst part is that they charge an arm and a leg for this.  All they need to do is get in a new chef who can make the recipes which are just classic Chinese.  Alas.

In the morning we went to school.  I got the full on tour.  Got to see Rubys art work.  Love this piece.  Learning photoshop at this age is key. 

Ruby also wrote this piece which was picked up for a card that went out to the school.

This is a self portrait done with construction paper.  I love the description.  Ruby loves to be in the kitchen.

I sat through the performances of each grade.  They were short and sweet.  Brought me back to our kids earlier years.  Rubys was the last one. 

Really glad I came.  She's just a great kid. 

hackNY

I am a big fan of hackNY.  I was delighted to speak to their class last year.  It is that time of year again where they are taking applications for the class of 2013.  The applications must be submitted by March 20th.  See info below.  Click here for details . 

Submit your startup

The hackNY Fellows program, now entering its fourth year, is an intense, structured program designed to introduce talented students to NYC’s startup community by pairing the best technical minds with great New York startups. hackNY Fellows have participated from all over the US, Europe, and Canada, and have included students with coding talents in front-end, back-end, data science, machine learning, and design and UX/UI.

Startups applying to work with a hackNY Fellow are making a commitment to the following:

• - to provide a concrete problem for the Fellow to work on,
• - to provide a specific person to mentor the fellow, and
• - to provide a place for the Fellow to work — the startup must at least have dedicated coworking space if not an office.

THE DETAILS:
If you are successfully matched with a hackNY Fellow: host startups pay at least $800/week for 10 weeks to the Fellow and $3,000 to hackNY, which covers the direct cost of hosting their Fellow (housing and summer programming). As in previous years, hackNY works to support all scales of NYC startup and will be providing aid to startups which can show evidence of a strong mentoring environment but for which this commitment is incompatible with the current level of funding. Please email scholarships@hackNY.org for more information.

If you are not successfully matched with a hackNY Fellow: we still want you to find a great intern. As with our prior three years, student applications and startup applications will be processed by HackMatch (an algorithmic matching) and informations exchanged, with a ranked list of matches and a list of technical compatibilities.

Please submit applications before 11:59 pm NYC time Wednesday March 20

Happy International Womens Day

I am one day late to the show.  I was on a plane all day yesterday but I love this video from Hot Bread Kitchen.  Happy International Womens Day from all the New Yorkers at Hot Bread Kitchen.

 

The rise of Angel Investing

There are probably a variety of reasons on why there has been such a rise in angel investing over the past decade.  More than likely the affluence across the globe and the desire for those individuals to diversify their assets.  Putting money away in more traditional risk adverse areas is not giving investors the returns that they got in the past.  Also, doesn't everyone want to be part of the start-up nation? 

I am seeing a significant change in the power of the angel investor over the past year.  There are many businesses that I have invested in that are going out to get their next round of financing.  These are businesses with traction, engagement and revenues.  They are not having the easiest time getting VC's to lead the deals.  Why?  Maybe they don't see those businesses are multi-billion dollar businessees, maybe they don't believe the entrepreneur will stick it out to get big, maybe maybe maybe.  I don't know the answer but I am finding we don't necessarily need the lead VC.

What I do know is that I am seeing these entrepreneurs raise $1-2 million from angels, super angels, original investors putting money back in and they can close their round without a lead.  I know because I am leading these deals.  I am not leading them financially but because I am intimately involved with the company and I believe that this next round of financing is the key to the next step in growth, I am putting together the documents and setting a price.  I am pretty sure that these companies will either never have to raise more money or have zero problem raising money at the next turn. 

As more successful entrepreneurs who have cashed out, more people who have a desire to invest in start-ups that they understand and can make an impact in, more women (PLEASE!) get into this game, I believe I will be doing more leads on the Series A and others will to. 

Angel investing is changing and that is giving more companies the ability to grow because angel investors are happy with a $50m exit or even getting paid dividends on a business of that size and VC's are not. 

Savoring the Shore

Hurricane Sandy left an aftermath in its wake.  Unless you are living through it, you honestly have zero idea that communities are still suffering.  We are far from suffering but our heat is still not up to speed and I believe everything will be back on line by Friday. I know that we are one of the luckier buildings.  We have still yet to see our insurance money show up.  Yes, four months of documented devastation and no insurance money.  Makes you wonder right?

Cheryl Larkin ( who reached out to me ) and her daughter are creating a brand new cookbook to benefit Sandy relief on the NJ Shore.  They are requesting recipes and memories from not only local people and chefs but people who visit the Jersey shore every summer. 

Here is a link to their website.  Get the word out, submit a recipe and I plan on buying a cookbook when they are ready to sell.  I love that they are doing this.  Great good will for the community on many levels. 

Etsy Pop-up Shop in Soho

i love Etsy.  It is the worlds largest marketplace to sell and buy handmade and vintage items.  Etsy is a win for the consumer and a win for the maker.  They have created a very special community as well.

Last night we stopped by the Etsy pop-up shop located on Greene Street in Soho between Houston and Prince.  There are events going on all day long that you can sign up for from music to talks.  Completely free.  So smart.

Here is an area dedicated to the kid room from a variety of individuals who put this together with their separate wares.

Of course a sewing machine must be on the premises.

Fred bought this Moose shirt.

I thought these plates were hilarious.

Everything is charge, no cash. 

A wonderful place to buy gifts for the holidays...or gifts in general.  A gift for someone and a gift for yourself. 

What's left after Hurricane Sandy

We are still not back in our place and probably won't be until December or possibly January.  Once we move back in everything will basically go back to normal.  For the people who have lost their homes in areas of New Jersey, Staten Island and Brooklyn life will never just go back to normal.  Their homes are simply gone.

When you see the photos of these homes you can see that there is nothing left to build on, no repairs to be done.  These homes will have to be bulldozed.  Then what?  Many of the people who owned these homes did not have flood insurance.  Where do they rebuild?  Do they rebuild homes in an area that could easily be destroyed by a hurricane again next year? 

I do not know what the worth of these homes prior to the hurricane but here is what I would propose.  Perhaps the Federal Government could come up with a proposal for each of those individual plots of lands and buy each owner out.  It would have to be enough money for each family to relocate easily.  Then take those large tracts of land that have now become part of the shoreline and create national parks.  Parks that can take the wrath of another Sandy.  Parks that can embrace Mother Nature without leaving costly clean-ups and devastation. 

I feel absolutely terrible for every individual who has been literally taken by surprise but pouring money into their properties does not make sense for anyone.  It is a time to think with our heads not with our hearts. 

Business Insider interview with Lindsay Campbell

Lindsay Campbell interviewed me at Business Insider.  We basically sat down and talked.  Here is the interview broken down in to three segments. 

 

Curbed Media

I just have to gush a little bit. I invested in Curbed Media (aka Curbed, Racked and Eater) in 2008 before the world collapsed.  I had been watching the properties from a distance.  I loved what Lockhart Steele was doing.  I really felt that what he was building was the future in how we would take in our content.  When I found out he was beginning to look for investors I literally jumped.  It was the first thing I ever invested in. 

It has been an incredible investment and an amazing experience.  We went through a time when he needed another round of financing and nobody was putting money into anything.  Yet I was a big believer that nothing had changed in his business model.  The only thing that had changed was the economy had tanked and that would be short-lived. The business would continue to grow because this was the future.  I was drinking the kool-aid and I got all the big investors to take a sip too. 

Over time the business grew at every turn from Curbed to Racked to Eater.  We started to build a serious company with a revenue model that included events and a marketplace.  Our audience continues to grow every month as we take our local content to a national audience.  Each property is unique yet has the same scrappy snarky edge which I love. 

Lock has built an incredible company with amazing group of people.  We put on an awards show for each of the properties every year.  I went to the Eater Awards this past week and I feel so grateful to be part of this company.  The place was packed and people stood in line to get in at 7pm.  There were chefs from across the country sharing their wares with NYers who came to celebrate.  We held the event at the Bowery Hotel.  It was fantastic. 

There is nothing quite like the feeling of watching an idea take hold and grow over time to the point where the trajectory is only upward with a revenue model that is producing a profit.  We employ a lot of people who love the organization and the community we have crated is just another bonus.  Most of all people love to read Eater, Curbed and Racked everyday. 

Once in awhile you have to stand back and just gush about those successes.  It just feels really good. 

 

Kitchensurfing chefs cooking for those in need #Sandy

Nothing Restores Humanity Like a Hot Meal

Hurricane Sandy did a number on New York. While much of the city is returning to normal life, parts of the city are devastated.

At Kitchensurfing, we had an interesting week. But the best part of the week was being inspired by the chefs in our community. We got a call on Thursday from chefs that were headed to the Rockaways to prepare hot food for those in need. We sponsored them and we were shocked to hear the return report. We’ve decided to use our skills to help support our chefs that want to help.

Support Chefs for Sandy

In several communities around New York, people still don’t have power, and many are homeless. There’s emergency relief in place and it is not enough.

A hot meal is humanizing in a way that little else can be. There’s looting, people are afraid, it’s cold, and this week is bringing more bad weather. Kitchensurfing stands for a kind of grassroots hospitality and a belief that breaking bread with someone can right many wrongs. We’re jumping in to help with things that the internet is good at: connecting people together to share and pool resources.

Specifically:

1. We’re looking for supporters to make small financial contributions towards food costs as our chefs work the kitchens.
2. We have Kitchensurfing chefs donating their time and skills prepping hot dishes for hard hit areas.
3. We’ve fronted the cost of transportation to shuttle hot food. We’re going to be partnering with others to shuttle.
4. We’re subsidizing the ingredients cost for these chefs
5. We’ve got multiple commissaries that are donating their space for our chefs to come and cook together

Support Chefs for Sandy