After 20 years of active investing, Charlie O'Donnell decided to refocus his attention on other pursuits and end his venture career. He'll be discussing his experience as an investor at Union Square Ventures and First Round Capital--two of the best teams in the business--as well as his time building up and raising three of his own funds at Brooklyn Bridge Ventures. The session will be highly interactive and deeply honest about the highs and lows of a venture career. New and future investors are welcome to join--especially those from traditionally underrepresented communities.
Interviewer:
Lawer Teye, Mentor at Techstars
Lawer is passionate about the innovation economy and immersed within the New York City venture ecosystem. He began his career at JPMorgan in Corporate Finance before transitioning to Investment Research, covering & diligencing Technology, ESG and Thematic fund managers for JPM's open architecture investment platform. After working as a Product Specialist at a credit fund he returned to JPM as Vice President to build out the venture banking group focused on public / private capital market solutions across debt, equity and fundraising. He is also a mentor with Techstars and former BLCK VC fellow, advising companies on positioning, GTM strategy and ecosystem building. Outside of work he mentors high schoolers, loves travel, writing on Medium and is an avid marathon runner.
About Charlie:
Charlie O'Donnell, Founder & Sole Partner at Brooklyn Bridge Ventures
Brooklyn Bridge Ventures manages three funds, leading or co-leading investments of around $400,000 in New York City companies that have yet to raise $750,000 in prior rounds. BBV is the first venture capital fund based in Brooklyn, NY. Conversations often start pre-product and pre-deck.
A special thank you to Republic for partnering with Brooklyn Bridge Ventures for this event!
Republic is a global private fintech firm democratizing startup investing; Republic's Founder Community, headed up by Zehra Naqvi is a new in-person NYC event series focused on bringing together exceptional founders and investors.
