the z list 💥🧿✨👩🏻‍💻 #52

long on nyc, i'm still angel investing, & rare consumer VCs

Author

Zehra Naqvi
June 04, 2024

I hope you’re all enjoying NYTW and the incredible amount of events happening across the city. I’ve been enjoying catching up with portfolio companies (my angel investments), meeting the rare VC still excited about consumer investing, and making new friends across NYC.

While I understand (and love) the jokes about NYTW, I really do have to say it’s been remarkable to be in NYC the past 7 years and witness the startup ecosystem blossom seemingly out of nowhere. When I first arrived here in 2017, I had to hunt to find VCs + startups to work for.

In just a few short years, we’ve seen NYTW go from ~30 events in 2022 to now ~800 in 2024. I’m always long on NYC (also who could be long on SF when the restaurants close at 10pm?)

If you’re in town this week, please reply to this email! I’ve cleared out my inbox and am spending nearly 100% of my time this week in person and off of my laptop.

June’s edition of 1 GP Allowed will feature Terri Burns and July’s Edition will feature Turner Novak. We have GPs slotted till February of next year (1 GP/month). Subscribe!

Z List IRL hosted by Zehra

Scroll a little further down for the top ~4% of all the events at NY Tech Week (32 vs. 795 on the main calendar)

wednesday 6/12

thursday 6/13

post nytw later in june!

43North Offers $1M Investments for Seed-Stage Startups

43North, an accelerator program in Buffalo, NY is offering seed-stage founders $1 million investments in exchange for 5% equity for a limited time! Apply now for your chance to secure $1 million in funding, expert mentorship, and invaluable connections.

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.

Fundraising News

Consumer-Specific News

NY Tech Week (curated by me, Z)

The list below is heavily vetted and represents ~4% of all the events at NY Tech Week (32 vs. 795 on the main calendar).

tuesday 6/4

wednesday 6/5

thursday 6/6

friday 6/7

If you attended an event I recommended but did not enjoy yourself or found it to be low quality, please email me and let me know which event it was! I take my recommendations incredibly seriously and want to ensure everyone is having a good time.

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

wednesday 7/17

Wanted to dedicate this edition of The Z List’s friend’s section to the Inside Summit, happening on July 17th in NYC. As a part of The Room Podcast community, I’m super excited to extend 20% off tickets for a limited time (use code: ZEHRA20) Inside Summit is going to be the tech event of the summer - and very different from any other conference you've been to. Here's some of what you will experience at Inside Summit: 

  • Founder & funder matching for those fundraising or looking to build their network

  • Founder-to-founder buddy matching for founders to make new friends and mentors (make founder friends that are a stage ahead of you)

  • Vendor & customer warm introductions

  • Small-group conversations & workshops oriented around tactical topics that aren’t happening anywhere else

  • Free headshots

  • Goodie-bag full of products from some of the hottest DTC brands

  • Consumer brand “market” access

  • After-party with open bar & bites

Can’t wait to announce more details re: the above! I’ll be at this conference in Park City July 15-17 :) more details to come soon.

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.

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.

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! 💥🧿✨👩🏻‍💻