I moved to New York five years ago after David Karp took a chance on me, convincing me to join Tumblr and move to the best city. And those five years of living and building in New York have been transformative. While Silicon Valley taught me to build with the scientific method and a growth mindset, New York taught me to build with heart and soul. It was in NY that I began angel investing in and advising early-stage startup founders on how to build a product-driven company, make their first PM hire, and find product-market fit early.
It was in NY that I found ways to champion the boldest and most ambitious founders who also happen to be first-gen immigrants, liberal arts majors, and BIPOC folks coming from nontraditional backgrounds. It was in NY that I realized my core mission of supporting and championing founders at the earliest stages. The past 10+ years of operating, advising, and investing has taught me the chaos theory of company building. One thing has become clear from these experiences–I want to be in the trenches helping founders and builders.
I’m so excited to be joining Silicon Valley Bank as Director of Early Stage Startups, helping New York’s vibrant and inclusive ecosystem of founders and builders.
SVB has been a vital part of my New York tech experience. I’ve loved every minute of partnering with Andrew Oddo on startup programming, learning about the LP world from Daniel Dehrey, and meeting the best NY founders at SVB’s intimate gatherings. What resonated with me the most is the way SVB supports founders with a human touch. SVB is more than just a bank. It’s also a constellation of confidantes and trusted advisors who offer platform support, banking, and fundraising help. And I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to champion founders, leveraging SVB’s world-class platform, brand, resources, and network. This is a dream come true.
Founders, it is my deepest honor to serve you as a confidante, fundraising strategist, and product advisor. Please don’t hesitate to drop me a line at bren@svb.com.
You can find me on Twitter at @bosefina and my DMs are open as always.
I’ll be sharing musings on Substack here.
See you in the trenches,
— bo
