Crosby Street Hotel NYC’s VC hotspot

Crosby Street Hotel NYC's VC hotspot

The Crosby Hotel: New York’s Hotspot for Venture Capitalists

Located in the lively downtown area of Manhattan, the Crosby Hotel has become a popular hotspot for venture capitalists (VCs) looking for a place to meet, work, and stay while visiting New York City. With its quirky, artistic, yet tasteful vibe, the hotel offers a private and funky ambiance that appeals to the VC crowd, who seem to prefer it over the more buttoned-up atmosphere of Midtown.

On any given day, the hotel courtyard is teeming with investors from top firms like Benchmark, Thrive Capital, Coteau, General Catalyst, and Bessemer Venture Partners. The hotel’s proximity to the buzzy downtown district, stretching from Madison Square Park to Tribeca, has played a significant role in its popularity among VCs. Meeting founders where they’re based is crucial for building relationships and staying up-to-date with the latest trends in the startup world.

According to Andrew Steele, a partner at Activant Capital, the Crosby Hotel has been the go-to spot for meetings with founders and VCs for years. He humorously notes that VCs are always fashionably late to anything cool, but the hotel has been “really awesome” for a long time. As more venture investors establish their presence in downtown Manhattan, with VC shops like Union Square Ventures, QED Investors, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Bain Capital Ventures, the Crosby Hotel remains a convenient and preferred location, approximately a 15-minute walk away.

Sarah Hinkfuss, a partner at BCV, always chooses to stay at the Crosby when visiting the city. She praises the hotel’s plentiful space and its vibe—private yet funky, never stuffy. In fact, Hinkfuss recalls a memorable experience of sharing a drink with a fellow investor at the hotel after the resolution of the Silicon Valley Bank crisis, an event that had significant impacts on the startup and VC communities. Their emotional reaction caught the attention of a confused mother and daughter, who ended up receiving an impromptu explanation of the entire crisis.

The Crosby Hotel perfectly embodies the spirit of SoHo, the artistic and creative neighborhood it calls home. Its popularity among venture capitalists is not only due to its ambiance but also because it offers them an opportunity to combine business with pleasure. Term sheets can be discussed over gourmet coffee, and important deals can be celebrated alongside a delicious meal.

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FC Barcelona’s Media Unit Goes Public via SPAC

In other news, FC Barcelona, the iconic Spanish football club, is taking its media unit, Barça Media, public through a merger with Mountain & Co. I Acquisition Corp. The deal values Barça Media at an impressive $1 billion, providing a significant boost to the Spanish club as it navigates through financial troubles. Barça Media encompasses FC Barcelona’s social media, video, and esports content, making it a valuable asset for the club.

Interestingly, this development follows star player Lionel Messi’s departure from FC Barcelona to join Inter Miami in the United States. The media unit’s public listing via a SPAC allows the club to leverage its digital presence and reach new heights in the world of media and entertainment.

As the Crosby Hotel continues to be a vibrant hub for venture capitalists, it serves as a testament to the evolving landscape of finance, technology, and media. The convergence of these industries creates exciting opportunities for collaboration and growth, ultimately shaping the future of innovative ventures worldwide.

• Anne Sraders
• Twitter: @AnneSraders
• Email: [email protected]

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Jackson Fordyce curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.

Venture Deals

• Tracer, a New York-based data intelligence platform, raised $18.1 million in Series A funding. The round was co-led by NewRoad Capital Partners, Progress Ventures, and BDMI, with participation from S4S Ventures and Arbour Way Investors.
• Spearbit, a Miami-based smart contract audit and security solutions company, secured $7 million in funding. Framework Ventures led the round, joined by Nascent, 1kx, Volt Capital, Breed VC, and Robot Ventures.
• Braid, a San Francisco-based text messaging app connecting creators to their fans, closed a $6.8 million seed funding round. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and Initialized Capital.

Private Equity

• Highland Commercial Roofing, backed by HCI Equity Partners, completed the acquisition of Skycraft Roofing, a commercial roofing contractor based in Baldwin Park, California. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
• The Norlee Group, a portfolio company of White Wolf Capital Group, acquired Colwill Engineering, a provider of contract and engineering design services based in Tampa, Florida. The financial details of the deal were not revealed.

SPAC

• Barca Media, the content creation unit of FC Barcelona, agreed to go public through a merger with Mountain & Co. I Acquisition Corp., a SPAC. The merger values Barca Media at $1 billion.

Funds + Funds of Funds

• Access Holdings, a private equity firm based in Baltimore, raised $805 million for a fund focused on middle-market buyouts and growth capital investments.

People

• Rally Ventures, a venture capital firm with offices in Menlo Park, California, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, hired Ben Fried as a venture partner. Previously, Fried worked at Google.

As the worlds of finance, technology, and media continue to intertwine, the Crosby Hotel maintains its position as a vital meeting place for venture capitalists. Meanwhile, FC Barcelona’s move to take its media unit public underscores the club’s commitment to innovation and growth in the digital age. These developments highlight the dynamic nature of the business landscape and the transformative power of collaboration in shaping the future.