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I’m joining Flybridge as an Advisor

Today, I'm very happy to announce that I've joined the amazing team at Flybridge Capital Partners as an Advisor for New York-based investment opportunities.

This position is part-time (more like real-time), as day-to-day I -- as most of you know -- help run AnyClip (as EVP Product & Technology), and (on a part-time, pro-bono basis) lead the NY Tech Meetup.

I'm excited about this new relationship for a number of reasons. For one, it's a great opportunity for me to work with and learn from yet another World Class team. I've been very lucky to work with amazing people in the past -- from Kyle Bragger at BricaBox, to Bob Williams at NPB; from David S. Rose at RTV, to Aaron Cohen and the team at AnyClip -- and now, I get to add the team at Flybridge to that list.

The partners at Flybridge are true entrepreneurs with amazing startup stories of their own. Each of them have walked first and foremost in our shoes, and have succeeded. In the investing they do today, they take the entrepreneur's perspective to the table, and it's reflected in every aspect of how they do business. As I did my diligence on the firm, I heard from person after person how exceptionally respectful the team was to entrepreneurs (when it's a "no" you'll hear "no," not a dial-tone, and when it's a "yes" the deal will get done painlessly); on the other side of the table, I also heard from my friends at other VC firms how great it was to co-invest and be shareholders with Flybridge.

Additionally, Flybridge is much more diverse than a typical New York VC firm, and working with Flybridge I'll have the opportunity to see inside of deals outside of New Media, and inside industries like green tech and biotech. As I grow as an entrepreneur, and as New York grows as an ecosystem, having support infrastructure for non-media related investments, -- whether from Flybridge or others -- will be a very good thing.

This last issue is a good segway to another reason I'm so excited about my relationship with Flybridge: it's another notch in the belt for New York, as the startup capital of the World. In my work with NY Tech Meetup, I welcome new VCs and startups from outside the New York area here on a weekly basis. Flybridge already has its foot in the door in New York -- they were a founding partner in the First Growth Venture Network, and recently invested in NY's own 10Gen -- and now, with my engagement with the firm, I'm excited for New York that Flybridge has made an additional investment in our ecosystem.

(By the way, this relationship means that if I can get a chance to know you and your startup -- and it seems to be a fit -- I now have a direct line to a great East-Coast VC firm and can make the connection. Hopefully, those connections, over time, will lead to more successful startups in New York City.)

Finally, I'd like to thank someone who helped this relationship come about. It was Roger Ehrenberg who connected me and Jeff Bussgang, the partner at Flybridge I'll work closest with. I've known Roger for a few years now, and I look up to him for his entrepreneurial spirit, early stage investing prowess, and sheer intellect. Even before meeting the Flybridge team and spending time with them, I felt good about the opportunity because it came from Roger.

So that's it! I'm looking forward to my ongoing work, as an entrepreneur and community leader, in the New York startup ecosystem, and now working with Flybridge to make killer investments in our great City.

About Nate Westheimer

Nate is the Co-Founder and VP Product of AnyClip. He is also the Organizer of the 10,000 member NY Tech Meetup.