“At the end of the day, you always have something to offer, and sometimes that is just the willingness to ask a good question.” For everyone out there that hesitates to reach out or connect with others out of fear that you won’t be able to bring something to the table, Charlie O'Donnell has some timeless wisdom.
About us
We bring together small groups of founders, leaders, and solopreneurs to share experiences, challenges, and perspective.
- Website
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http://www.formative.space
External link for Formative
- Industry
- Think Tanks
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Type
- Privately Held
- Founded
- 2023
Employees at Formative
Updates
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“Realize that not everyone knows exactly how to be helpful to you and sometimes you just have to spell it out.” Charlie O'Donnell shares with us a gem of perspective on how to make those around us feel more comfortable and competent when it comes to answer the call of our needs. When it came to raising his first fund for Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, sometimes it was simply reassuring people that no intro was a waste of time.
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“The half-life of doing something for somebody and being remembered for it is a long time.” When Charlie O'Donnell was raising his first fund for Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, in a moment of “last resort”, he decided to simply mass email everyone he knew letting them know what he was up to. What he got in return wasn’t just investment capital, but an overwhelming karmic return.
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"I often say to entrepreneurs or to people running businesses...what else have you been through compared to this? What's worse? I know you've been through worse. What is it? Let's talk about that." Bevy and Startup Grind co-founder Derek Andersen talks to us about how he gets through the really hard days, and where he finds his own source of determination to persist.
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"Steve, if I just found your book nine months earlier, I would have saved myself so much pain! And his immediate response was, if you had found my book nine months earlier, you would have never paid attention to it." A poignant anecdote from Startup Grind founder Derek Andersen on the reality that some lessons need to be learned the hard way first (even if those lessons have been elegantly summarized for us by brilliant authors, like Steve Blank).
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When asked about the criticality of people relationships in difficult times, On Deck co-founder Julian Weisser responds with a truly 🤯 framework he uses to think about learning from those around him.
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Startup Grind is a global startup community with 4 million startups across 600 cities. But years ago, it was a small side project. Watch Startup Grind co-founder Derek Andersen share how coffee with a friend changed everything. Connection sparks advancement.
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Our conversation with Julian Weisser took a dive into the personal origins of On Deck. It turns out a lack of connection at a critical juncture in Julian's own startup journey laid the foundation for his life's work supporting other founders.
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Connection sparks advancement, and for On Deck co-founder Julian Weisser, that spark unexpectedly happened at the very moment he was winding down his first venture. Watch the story here as told to Formative co-founder, Ari Roisman.
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A poignant take from one of our founders on why we're building Formative.
“Depression: The valley between your mom asking if this could be the next Google and the reality that you could be working on the next nothing. You need to figure out how not to drown in that valley.” That was a note I wrote to myself over 10 years ago while working on Unbucket, and I keep those words close by as a reminder of why I’m so passionate about Formative, and specifically, building groups that support founders. I spent a lot of time isolated in that valley while building Unbucket, and perhaps standing in that valley with peers could have made the difference. In the end, it turns out that while Unbucket did become the next nothing, I was concurrently building the next version of myself and inspiring future versions of me -- right up until this moment. Just sharing a reminder at the start of the week that next to every valley is a hilltop from which you'll one day enjoy the view. P.S. Thanks mom for always believing in me!
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