New York Angels

On March 18, we launched Critical Mass with over 350 guests, an exhibit of 8 incredible companies curated and built by Newlab’s team, a performance by Mambembé New York, a DJ set by DJ Workhorse and attendance by our members, board members and community at large. Our series theme, “Critical Mass: Volume One,” captures the unit of energy it takes to push forward critical technology. Our show’s subtitle, "All Trips Are Heavy," pays tribute to a startup company's odyssey of pursuing hard and important things. The evening was a showcase and celebration of groundbreaking technology and founders who are driving critical innovation forward, featuring critical technology from Amogy, Armada, Mantel, Membrion, Inc., Novamera Inc., Optimotive, Orpheus Ocean, and Verne. Critical Mass is a regularly occurring open house at Newlab Brooklyn featuring a rotating exhibition that highlights the most exciting startups in the ecosystem. Stay tuned for Volume 2!

I am thrilled to have coordinated the investor panel for Faculty Entrepreneur Connect Brown University. Thanks to my fellow New York Angels and life sciences expert Vijay Aggarwal and Ian Levine (Managing Director Launchpad Ventures Boston. Thanks to Brown Technology Innovations and Melissa Simon and Karen Bulock for inviting us. Great ideas and fascinating conversations!!

I’m incredibly excited to announce that Rockerbox has entered into an agreement to be acquired by DoubleVerify. This is a huge milestone in the journey that started almost 12 years ago when Patrick O'Toole and I first launched Rockerbox as a mobile shopping app. What we’ve accomplished since then is truly remarkable—the team we’ve built, the culture we’ve developed, and the company we’ve shaped. Most importantly, we’ve done it the Rockerbox way. While other companies focused on raising large amounts of capital, we took a different path. We focused on living the Rockerbox values every day. We adapted as the market evolved, successfully transforming from a managed service media business into the leader in marketing attribution. As a result, Rockerbox has become an indispensable part of how our customers operate. Today, our technology enables hundreds of brands to accurately measure and allocate their marketing dollars toward the business outcomes that matter most. Thank you to every single Rockerboxer, past and present. Your hard work, dedication, and belief in what we’re building made this possible. Also thanks to all the customers, partners, investors, and friends of Rockerbox who supported us along the way. It truly takes a village to build something special, and we’re incredibly fortunate to have had so much help throughout this journey. I’m thrilled to kick off this exciting next chapter with Rockerbox and DoubleVerify. Together, we have the opportunity to build the world’s best measurement and optimization platform—one that spans the entire funnel, from viewability, fraud, and brand safety to the outcomes that drive business success. The foundation of Rockerbox remains the same—our incredible team, our product, and our vision—but now, with more resources than ever, we can move faster, win bigger, and make an even greater impact.

Great time and amazing company presentations at Withum NYC FinTech Connect. Even got to see my fellow NY Angels David S. Rose, Cindy Cook, Bruce Hack and Nikos Theodosopoulos. Thank you Jessica Offer, Matt Greco and Kaitlin Chefalas, CPA!