Mark your calendars: on Thursday evening, September 10, StrictlyVC — TechCrunch’s boutique night sequence — is heading to New York’s West Village (the true one — brownstones, cobblestones, and all — not the Mission Bay stretch of San Francisco that’s earned the nickname “Vest Village” for all of the Patagonia-clad VCs roaming round).
It’s our first New York occasion in two years, and after a run of nice nights this 12 months in San Francisco, L.A., and Athens, we couldn’t be extra excited to be again — with a stacked lineup to match. What’s in retailer:
Keith Rabois. We’re kicking off the evening with the inimitable Keith Rabois, who just lately relocated East from Silicon Valley and, true to type, appears intent on shaking issues up wherever he lands. Rabois has by no means been shy about what he thinks is working in enterprise and what isn’t — he’s backed Ramp 4 occasions and invested as usually in State Affairs, an organization utilizing AI and native journalists to trace statehouse-level information and coverage knowledge throughout all 50 states. He’ll share his robust opinions on founders who increase extra capital than they really want, simply because they’ll. And we’ll get him speaking about Khosla Ventures’ boldest AI guess but: its early $50 million examine into OpenAI again in 2019 when the outfit had no clear enterprise mannequin — plus what he makes of the narrative that OpenAI is dealing with extra headwinds proper now than its rivals.
Craig Shapiro and Jason Levien. After our sit-down with Keith, stick round for a dialog you gained’t discover anyplace else. Craig Shapiro’s enterprise agency, Collaborative Fund, is generously co-hosting the night with us, and we’ll sit down with Shapiro and Jason Levien, CEO of D.C. United, to speak sports activities organizations as enterprise investments — and the more and more tangled intersection of sports activities, fandom, commerce, and group.
Tristan Walker. Staying on the theme of group, we’ll dig right into a dialog with two founders constructing for a world the place AI does extra — but additionally takes one thing away. Tristan Walker, who bought his final firm, Walker & Firm Manufacturers (maker of Bevel), to Procter & Gamble in 2018, is again with Heirloom Craft, a startup targeted on reshoring American nice craftsmanship — coaching a brand new era of artisans and rebuilding the provision chains behind them.
Brynn Putnam. Walker will likely be joined by Brynn Putnam, who bought her final firm, connected-fitness startup Mirror, to Lululemon for $500 million, simply three years after it was launched. Putnam’s latest enterprise is Board, a recreation firm mixing bodily play with AI-powered creation instruments — constructed as one thing of an antidote to the isolation tech has fueled, bringing individuals again collectively round, actually, a board.
Deven Parekh. Final however not least, we’re thrilled to meet up with Deven Parekh, who has co-run Perception Companions — the New York powerhouse funding agency — for greater than 25 years. Perception doesn’t do numerous press, however Parekh has agreed to drag again the curtain on how the agency is considering a panorama the place it’s gotten more durable to inform asset courses aside, as a number of the largest funds have grown exponentially bigger. What we need to know: how does Perception compete in a world the place capital itself is a commodity, however the potential returns on large investments have additionally by no means been larger?
Count on a enjoyable evening throughout, with drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and loads of networking earlier than and after the hearth chats, together with with Connie Loizos, Rebecca Bellan, and different TechCrunch writers (in addition to our associates from different retailers).
Big thanks once more to the group at Collaborative Fund for making the evening potential. Extra particulars and ticketing data right here. See you within the (actual) West Village.
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