Team,
First time joining us? That means someone amazing thought you would be a fantastic addition to our little experiment. Welcome!
It has been a while! No *you* look the same. Since we last spoke, I've been busy on the investing front (a little more on that below), I was awarded a patent I filed during my days at Disney, and I most recently took on a new role as the CEO + Partner of Founders Factory NY (The Wall Street Journal covered our launch).
At FFNY, our first investor is Johnson & Johnson and our first investment thesis is focused on consumer healthcare, with special emphasis on women's health/femtech. Our model is predicated on bridging our portfolio companies with meaningful scale opportunities through our investors/partners.
If you know of a fantastic early-stage consumer healthcare startup I should speak to, please reach out!
Annnnd we are hiring! Come help me build FFNY from the ground up.
I'm also still writing angel checks, so if there's an amazing company that fits outside of this thesis, please send it my way.
Today's newsletter is a little light, because we're just getting up and running again.
But! You'll notice OLE now has swanky new digs on Substack, the best newsletter platform that allows writers to have a direct paid relationships with their readers. I'm biased, because I'm an advisor to the company (but that's only because they really are the best). If you're thinking of starting a newsletter, feel free to reach out and I'll help get you sorted.
BIG HUG to our contributors! You mean the world to us. Wanna follow suit? See "how to contribute" below. Easy peasy.
Responding to something below? Please submit it HERE. LOOK AT ME I’M IN CAPS PAY ATTENTION TO ME.
JOBS and INTERESTING OPS
(*companies I'm invested in or advising):
Gavin Purcell is hiring a Head of Digital at The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. (NY)
Polywise* is hiring for a nonfiction writer/editor. (NY)
Evelyn Rusli at Yumi is hiring for a number of roles. (LA)
Alex Iskold is hiring an associate at 2048 Ventures. (NY)
Umbrella is hiring a Head of Product. (NY)
I am hiring for a Managing Director, Studio Director & more at FFNY. (NY)
CONGRATSBOT
Congratulating a few of our members; this list is by no means exhaustive (*companies I'm invested in or advising):
Randi Zuckerberg and Eric Kuhn won TWO Tonys for producing Hadestown and Oklahoma!
Matt Lieber sold the company he co-founded, Gimlet Media, to Spotify.
John Battelle launched The Recount.
Danny Strong (co-creator of Empire) signed overall deal with 20th Century Fox.
Trish Iboshi and Frank Barbieri brought home medals from the Sonoma Country Harvest Fair wine making competition.
Substack* raised a series A led by A16z.
Thinker Tinker* was selected as Top Pick at Techcrunch Disrupt.
Kane Sarhan launched The Well, a modern wellness club designed for busy urban professionals in NYC.
Tony Haile launched Scroll.
Jose Antonio Vargas now has an elementary school named after him (!) in CA.
Orai* raised a seed round from Menlo VC, Comcast Ventures et al.
RAISING MONEY (OR RAISING SOON)
(*companies I'm invested in or advising)
Dianna Cohen* is closing a round next month for her company, Crown Affair.
Mike Teitelman* will soon be raising a round for Trapica (which has $1M+ in ARR).
GIFT IDEAS & OLE PERKS
Evelyn Rusli is giving OLE members an exclusive 20% off your first month's Yumi order and a free bib!
Jonathan Abrams has space available at Founders Den in SF (referral only).
OPEN QUESTIONS
Does anyone have a dependable and reputable/solid tailor in NYC for men/women?
CONTRIBUTE TO OUR LITTLE EXPERIMENT
If you enjoy OLE and/or benefit from it in some way, please give back in these ways:
1. Buy our Trust the Process (aka Trust the Press) shirt, with proceeds supporting 6 amazing orgs!
2. Suggest fantastic new people who are truly great fits for our community HERE.
3. List amazing, one-of-a-kind ops HERE.
Til next time,
Maya & Rob