Steven Moore ’12
My Experience
At NYC Seed I worked with two other interns on a variety of projects. I spent a lot of time trying to find companies that fit the objectives of NYC Seed’s investment criteria of being NYC based, have at least one technical co-founder and have a developed product. In this capacity, I met a lot of entrepreneurs in the New York City area who are benefiting from the efforts to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the area. I also had access to the other top venture capital firms in the city sharing the same vision as the founder of NYC Seed to make New York City a leader in innovation. Another project I worked on was the building of NYC SeedStart. This is an enterprise software focused accelerator for startups in the New York City region that provides equity, mentorship and business contacts to help the company grow. Helping with this program as well as the other projects I focused on during my time at NYC Seed, fit with the organization’s mission of building a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in New York City.
During my summer at NYC Seed I was able to apply many of the skills I learned during the MBA program at Columbia Business School. One area that I spent a good deal of time on was meeting with companies to discuss business strategy, team development, growth opportunities and financing options. My ability to give sound strategy advice came from the tools I learned in my core strategy class at CBS. I was able to provide the founders with plans on how to differentiate themselves from the competitors while highlighting the benefits they bring to the market. The team development aspect is critical to any startup’s success, so this was a critical part in my role. My experience as a Peer Advisor and working with my learning team allowed me to relay real time experience to the founders to assist them in building great companies. Finally, the portfolio companies’ financing options varied between equity or convertible note options, so the knowledge I gained in classes such as corporate finance, capital markets and entrepreneurial finance proved to be valuable to me in order to determine the best method of financing possible.
Working at NYC Seed and the thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem of NYC did present some challenges. The environment is ripe with people trying to bring their ideas to market by raising capital, but most are just not ready for institutional capital. It is never fun to say no to people who are passionate about a concept, but I found myself saying it more often than not. I learned to preface my “no” with constructive feedback that would help the entrepreneurs build a better product so they were better positioned in the future. At the end of the day, the business of venture capital is saying “no” more than “yes” so giving each team action steps and measurable goals benefits everyone at the table. If they make the suggested changes and meet the short-term goals outlined, then there is a chance for a funding opportunity at that time. It makes the news easier and leaves the founders feeling I am still a valuable resource to their success.
There are three main takeaways from my summer experience at NYC Seed. The first is that the movement to build the New York City entrepreneurial ecosystem is real and is shared by both public and private institutions. I am excited for what the future holds and the innovation we will all benefit from by these efforts. Second, NYC Seed is an integral part in building that ecosystem. Owen Davis is well connected and well positioned to assist many companies in the future for rapid growth. His feedback to founders and commitment to their success regardless of stage was a great lesson for me to learn early on in my career. Finally, my time at Columbia Business School has truly prepared me for a career in venture capital. The skills I developed and the network of CBS alums in the industry will allow me to flourish and hopefully help build strong companies.
