Thinkup 2018
I love the idea of starting new traditions and with our first annual Thinkup rooftop cocktail party, I’m hopeful we’ve done just that. Earlier in the year, a few folks at Luma and Revel had an idea to create a meet-up (or ‘thinkup”) amongst the top individuals currently leading the tech revolution in NYC as well as some of city’s best VCs, investors and large enterprises all with an eye towards making connections that would accelerate growth and innovation in some of the key sectors shaping the new economy.
Two weeks ago that idea came to fruition when Revel partnered with Luma to host Thinkup. The event brought together a range of businesses from exploding technology sectors like Voice, AI and Blockchain and paired them with some of New York’s top venture firms and angel investors along with several key strategic enterprises. In the end we had about 120 attendees on a gorgeous summer evening packed with NYC’s best and brightest mingling and interacting, having fruitful conversations and making meaningful connections.
Our goal was to have the full investment funnel represented in our attendees from start-ups and angels to later-stage VCs and portfolio companies to end-stage liquidity focused firms and enterprises. That meant we had folks like Sheila Spence, VP of Corporate Development at Spotify and Nick Brien, the CEO of Dentsu Aegis NA, mixing with entrepreneurs like Will Luttrell, the CEO and founder of Amino (a blockchain technology that drives transparency and efficient payment processes through the martech supply chain) and Igor Jablokov, the CEO of Pryon (a company which created a voice-layer AI designed to help enterprises manage all their other voice AIs). We also had a half dozen venture firms in attendance (such as RiverPark Ventures and Alpine Meridian) as well as several of our portfolio companies, angel investors and thought leaders in the tech space.
The next day when I was reflecting upon the event I thought how I couldn’t have asked for better company or a more perfect night to help celebrate New York’s tech scene, encourage conversation and keep innovation moving forward. So here’s to our new mid-summer tradition, and thanks to everyone who participated. I can’t wait to do it again next year!
