the z list 💥🧿✨👩🏻‍💻 #50

what's the point of going to irl events anyway?

Author

Zehra Naqvi
May 21, 2024

“What's the point of going to IRL events anyway?” When I find myself asking that question, I remind myself of these examples that ground me in the value of IRL connections. Here are some of my favorite people whom I’ve met via an event, dinner, or any kind of community gathering.:  

  • Terri at a dinner hosted by a mutual founder friend

  • Mason at Pitch & Walk

  • Layla at a panel we were both attending

  • Andrew at Andrew’s first huge tech event

  • Sesana at a panel Sesana spoke at

  • Anam & Eve at a conference they were hosting

  • Rhian at a breakfast event

  • Bryce at a breakfast event

  • Marcello at a breakfast event he was hosting at his office

Z List IRL hosted by Zehra

Scroll a little further down for the top ~5% of all the events at NY Tech Week (32 vs. 590 on the main calendar)

wednesday 5/29

monday 6/3

  • For the Girls: Female Founder & Investor Breakfast

    • for who: femme identifying founders & investors

    • hosted by: All Raise & SVB

    • okay so i’m hosting one event at ny tech week, bringing back the “for the girls” founder & investor breakfast that I hosted last year with SVB!

tuesday 6/4

thursday 6/13

post nytw later in june!

Going Public Season 2 is Here!

Going Public is a show like Shark Tank where viewers can invest in featured startups while they watch. It's a groundbreaking original series where we follow the stories of founders on their capital-raising journeys, and for the first time, viewers globally can Click-to-Invest and buy shares in featured companies in under a minute.

There’s nothing like this show in the market - it’s an anomaly in our industry. Companies who are featured have the potential to raise millions of dollars, drive new customer acquisition, and create massive mainstream brand awareness for their businesses – all at the same time.

Season two of Going Public has five episodes that are 14 minutes each. Former NBA star turned investor Baron Davis hosts the show and A-list celebrities like Floyd Mayweather take founders out of their comfort zone with challenges like getting in the ring with him to see how far they’re willing to go to raise capital. 

Season two is streaming now on MarketWatch. Watch here!*

Founder Feature: Zibo at Soundmap

the TLDR on Zibo: I wanted to be a musician at first but I wasn't talented enough, so I started building music apps. The first one failed, the second one failed, and I built 20+ apps that all failed. Luckily we've now found Soundmap!

What is Soundmap? Soundmap is a gamified consumer social app for music fans. Many of our users call us "Pokemon Go for Music". You walk around, collect song cards, trade with others, and build your dream playlist.

Fundraising advice for founders? Be honest with yourself on whether you need to raise and how much you need to raise

Advice for VCs investing in founders? Say no faster

VC Ecosystem News (No GPs Allowed)

If you haven’t yet subscribed to No GPs, below is some of what you can expect delivered to your inbox every Wednesday morning.

NY Tech Week (curated by me, Z)

The list below is heavily vetted and represents ~5% of all the events at NY Tech Week (32 vs. 590 on the main calendar).

monday 6/3

tuesday 6/4

wednesday 6/5

thursday 6/6

friday 6/7

Jobs (investor, operator, founding opportunities)

The Z List job drop, powered by Parallel.

Favs - A Los Angeles startup, is rethinking social media with an app focused on close connections and authentic interactions, minus the distractions of traditional platforms. ✨ Zehra’s portfolio company ✨ 

Doorlist -  DoorList is a social platform for campus events and group communication, enabling users to manage social calendars and facilitating over 1 million event invites.

Gynger - Gynger unlocks business growth by financing software and infrastructure purchases. Get flexible payment terms to improve cash flow, access top-tier tools, and save money.

Brie - A donation-based resale marketplace with 2-hour pickups, access to 1.5M charities, supporting charity with every purchase, and serving both wholesale and individual customers—redefining sustainable decluttering.

Thingtesting - Ditch the shopping struggles! We're your one-stop shop for honest reviews and brand discoveries, empowering informed purchases and a more thoughtful shopping experience.

Pin - A platform that makes it easy for people to pool their money together & invest in startups.

Disco - A post-purchase ad network for Shopify brands, helps top brands like Caraway acquire new customers by recommending products to interested shoppers after they purchase from similar brands.

Friends of Zehra

Kulfi Beauty - Kulfi Beauty celebrates South Asian beauty & culture with fun beauty products and content created with our community.
✨ Zehra’s portfolio company ✨ 

Doola - Start your US business from anywhere and keep it 100% compliant.
✨ Zehra’s portfolio company ✨ 

Soundmap - Soundmap is a gamified consumer social app for music fans. We have scaled to 100k DAU in less than 90 days and we are consistently top 5 in the iOS music game chart.

Carry - Carry is an all-in-one platform for tax-advantaged accounts, investments and strategy for business owners and high earners.

Want to get your jobs featured on the Z List? Sign up for the Parallel waitlist here.

Resources

Discounts

  • Kulfi Beauty, use code “zehra” for 20% off. I use their concealer rose rush and their kajal eyeliners in nazar no more everyday.

Friend’s of The Z List: Events & Projects
Wanna feature your event? Fill out this form.

tuesday 5/21

wednesday 5/29

Want to work with Zehra?

  • If you’re interested in working with me in any capacity I have some bandwidth and would love to learn more :) fill out this form. 

Please reply to this email if you'd like to amplify your events with the z list community or if you'd like to collaborate on an event together.

Have fun! 💥🧿✨👩🏻‍💻