Startup Grind NYC

Marketing Essentials That Set You On The Right Path From Pre-Seed To Series A.

Most founders leave accelerators with a pitch deck, a prototype, and a lot of pressure to grow — but little clarity on how to gain customers, validate their messaging, or build traction that impresses VCs.

We're teaching you how to fill that gap.

In this expert session from York Effect — in partnership with Startup Grind — we’ll break down what most accelerators miss: the real-world marketing insights every startup needs to attract their ideal customer, avoid wasted spend, and stand out in a crowded, noisy market.

This event is perfect for:

Early-stage startup founders (Pre-Seed through Series A)
Teams in accelerators, venture fellowships, or university entrepreneurship programs
Anyone looking to build a smarter go-to-market strategy and increase investor confidence

You will learn:

1. Brand:

Clarifying your vision, mission, and values in a way that builds trust and sets you apart
How to position yourself for investors and customers from Day 1

2. Customer Discovery:

Understanding intent and human behavior to identify your “Right Now” Customer
How to build marketing and product strategies around demand signals

3. Channels & Traction:

Where to market when you don’t have money to waste 👈
How to create credibility, validation, and traction investors want to see
Why founders must own the early-stage marketing story — and how to do it

Join us and get a practical, strategic foundation so you can approach marketing with the tactical understanding needed to attract users, generate revenue, and satisfy investor expectations — instead of relying on trial-and-error or burning through capital.

This event is a part of #NYTechWeek—a week of events hosted by VCs and startups to bring together the tech ecosystem. Learn more at www.tech-week.com.

Agenda

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Hosted By

Joshua Ness, Director, Startup Grind

Joshua Ness is the Manging Director at Startup Grind NYC and is a Director of Emerging Technologies with IEEE. He works with enterprise, startups, and academic teams to drive innovation. He also works to educate, inspire, and connect the dots for businesses interested in moving forward with emerging technology.

Tova Feldheim, Cofounder

I am a strategic advisor and marketing expert with 20+ years in B2B SaaS, brand building, and customer discovery. Specializing in aligning human behavior with technology to build products that resonate and marketing that converts. I've worked with enterprise clients and early-stage startups alike to refine messaging, strengthen go-to-market efforts, and accelerate growth

Arjun Mehta, Co-founder

Arjun Mehta is a recent graduate of NYU, holding a degree in Business and Tech Management with a concentration in Finance. During his time in college, Arjun gained invaluable experience through internships at a VC firm, a startup, and his own passion project. At the VC firm, he evaluated the growth potential of numerous health tech startups, analyzed pitch decks, and contributed to investment strategy meetings. Arjun also hosted strategic advisory calls for over 30 startup teams, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the startup VC ecosystem.

His longest tenure was at Invincible Entertainment as a Business Development Associate, where he utilized CRM tools to engage over 100 leads, significantly boosting sales outreach. He also closed multiple licensing deals and developed no-code AI tools to enhance workplace efficiency. Recently, Arjun co-created a chatbot for NYU's ambassador program, streamlining operations and reducing the need for on-shift counselors. Arjun is now seeking a role at a high-growth seed-stage startup to leverage his skills in sales, partnerships, and business strategy.

Jenny Sumeragi, CEO & Founder, JS Global Investment

Paul GUILLARD, Chief of Staff / BizOps / Project Manager / BD

I moved to NYC in April 24. I am currently coaching and advising early-stage founders on ideation, Business Model x Ideal Customer Profile x MVP, GTM and Fundraising.
Received my authorization to work in Nov so now also looking for a full time job as BizOps / Chief of Staff / Strategic Project Management for B2B SMB or Series A+
Before that, an Engineering Degree and 2 years of SMBs consulting in France, 10 years in APAC doing Strategic Project Management, Sales and BD; and 4 years in Spain for an MBA at IESE (consistently ranked Top10 in the world by FT) and working on some startups.

Prianka Ball,

Currently working in data at a early stage startup. Ex founder and looking for my next startup building adventure.

Benji Decker,

Franziska Oschmannn,

studying at Columbia University - passionate about tech, startups & VC

Daniel Silver, Owner

Creative, Thoughtful and Results-Driven Product Marketing Strategist Focused on Building, Launching and Optimizing New and Existing Products Across Their Life Cycle.

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Global Partner

Google Cloud (https://cloud.google.com/resources/content/future-of-ai-report?utm_source=events-with-google&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=FY25-Q1-NORTHAM-SMB31054-website-dl-AIThoughtLeader-52420&utm_content=startup-grind&utm_term=-&hl=en)

Partner

The Yard (https://theyard.com/)
The Yard is a coworking space at the intersection of innovation, creativity, design, & play -- with locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Philly, and DC -- with a variety of shared and private workspace options.

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Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. We host monthly events in more than 600 cities and 125+ countries featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share personal stories and lessons learned on the road to building great companies. Our monthly fireside chat interviews, startup mixers and annual conferences provide ample opportunities to connect with amazing startups and the people behind them, tap into a strong support network, form meaningful connections and gain inspiration for the startup journey ahead. For more information visit StartupGrind.com or follow us on twitter @StartupGrind.

Complete your event RSVP here: https://www.startupgrind.com/events/details/startup-grind-new-york-city-presents-what-vcs-want-but-accelerators-dont-teach-you-nytechweek/.