Last week, we gathered 50 select early-stage founders and investors for Graham & Walker’s NYC Founder Day and the room did not disappoint.
Founders came from across the country (over 25% of attendees traveled from outside NYC!) for a day built around tactical conversations, honest insights, and a community of builders who aren’t here to play the status game.
💡 What is G&W Founder Day?
Founder Day is a high-impact, high-substance event designed to help early-stage founders gain the insights, tools, and connections they need to move their businesses forward. Whether you’re refining your fundraising strategy, navigating legal complexities, or seeking guidance on overcoming bias, this event is built to deliver real value—not just inspiration.
💥 Founder Day in Action
We kicked off the day with Leslie Feinzaig’s Icebreaker + Mindset Workshop, followed a tactical session on Pitch Deck Fundamentals, which included a live teardown of a real founder deck (yes, really). The room was filled with note-taking, feedback, and founder-to-founder generosity that set the tone for everything that followed.
If we had to boil it down to three takeaways?
- “Why now?” should be clear by slide 3.
- Traction beats theory. Show what’s working.
- Your deck should answer: Why this? Why you? Why now?
Our partners at AWS led us through a Navigating Bias While Fundraising session, which gave practical insights on how founders can identify, navigate, and push back on systemic bias during the fundraising process.
Small group conversations with VCs like Mirit Lugassi, Ben Stokes, Evy Chen, Kristen Ankerbrandt, and Jennifer Travaglini allowed founders to ask have honest conversations, share real challenges, and make authentic connections with active investors.
In the afternoon, founders heard from AI experts, Chris Fischer, Adam Haney, and Emi Gonzalez, in a focused session on using AI to stay lean and scale smart. The message was clear: AI should support your mission, not distract from it.
Cassie Young (Primary Ventures), Bradley Tusk (Tusk Ventures), Heather Hartnett (Human Ventures), and Julie Griggs (Fourplay Social) shared insights on what’s shifting across sectors, from AI to consumer, and what early-stage founders should be watching heading into the second half of the year.
We closed the day with a thoughtful fireside chat between portfolio founder, Vanessa Rissetto of Culina Health, and Leslie Feinzaig. They spoke about leadership, identity, raising capital, and what it really takes to build while staying true to your vision.
And of course, we ended with cupcakes and tea, because hard work deserves a little celebration.
🙏 Thank You to Our Sponsors & Partners
A huge thank you to our sponsor, Amazon Web Services (AWS), for making this event free for every attending founder and for their continued commitment to supporting diverse startup leaders.
We are also grateful to Cooley LLP for offering exclusive one-on-one legal office hours to our community, and to P&T Knitwear for welcoming us into the most vibrant and one-of-a-kind event space in NYC.
🚀 What’s Next?
As my first G&W event as Chief of Staff, I couldn’t have asked for a better way to kick things off… and we’re already planning what’s next.
LA and SF, look out – you are next!
Founder Day is an intimate and high-value experience. If you want to be in the room next time, be ready to apply.
More details coming soon.
– Team G&W
