First Round Capital could do zero deals in New York over the next 12 months and they would still have a major impact on the NY startup scene because they’re paying Charlie O’Donnell to hang out in the Ace Hotel Lobby and chat with any entrepreneur who walks up to him. Charlie and the rest of the emerging investor class in NYC are guys who can and will connect the finance guys to the media guys, the tech wonks to the policy wonks and the creatives to the quants. And that’s huge.
From Brad Hargreaves
BTW... I'm super excited about First Round's office opening up at the end of the month. I don't plan to lose my Ace Hotel mayorship, though... so you'll no doubt find me biking up there for lunch meetings or just starting my day there for breakfast. I can't wait to invite people to meetings at my real office!